I feel bad, I feel a bit responsible for the tough time Bissie had here lately.

[wgscott]

"in spite of my Mensa membership"

 

Wow.

 

Do you have an entry in Who's Who? as well?

 

[bissie]

So that was the ONLY thing in my message that you picked up on? Good job that there are people with a knack for getting the important points.

 

And, since you ask, yes, of course I do.

 

Robert

 

 

[wgscott]

No. I appreciated the whole of the comedy. I just thought that was the funniest line.

 

[goldsdad]

"Whereas noone can fail to distinguish between skim milk and cream, I still have to meet the person who can, with any degree of certainty, distinguish between 24/44,1 and 24/higher, using the outer appedices to his body (called ears) ONLY. But that's another discussion entirely. So, I would say that even an upsampled 24/44,1 => 24/higher is for all practical purposes indistinguishable from the real thing, using ears alone (and that's how I listen to music (sorry, couldn't help myself)), and therefore less of a sculduggery than passing off skim milk for cream [...]"

 

Why do you consider the attempted deception with the lesser chance of being discovered to be the lesser sculduggery?

 

 

[bissie]

Good point. It isn't. But the result of a possibly successful sculduggery (the sale) is less harmful, because the discrepancy between what you got and what you thought you got is much smaller in the case of the upsampled version (actually next to indistinguishble), which does NOT mean that I defend such dishonesty. As said, good point, though.

 

Robert

 

[bissie]

Yes, funny enough to earn me personal medals from 2 kings, 3 presidents and 2 foreign offices for my contributions to the respective countries' musical life, for which, even though it is one of the deadly sins, I am proud. It may be a comedy, but very, very hard work. You have the last word.

 

Robert

 

 

[wgscott]

 

[Guest Caner]

Hilarious....LOL and I really can not stop laughing...

 

[crisnee]

"That is

 

Hilarious....LOL and I really can not stop laughing..."

 

@Caner, Would you kindly explain it to me, I don't get it; the hilarity in it, that is.

 

-Chris

 

 

[Guest Caner]

but I know you wouldn't get it.

 

 

 

[crisnee]

The point is that I don't get it now, which is why I'm asking; once explained, one no longer needs to get it. I don't guarantee that I'll find it hilarious, but an intelligent explanation will allow anyone to get it, even an alleged dummy--according to you, like me.

 

If anyone else feels like explaining it, please do, as it occurs to me that Mr. Caner cannot.

 

-Chris

 

 

[Mark Powell]

Imaginary Deity! He must have been brave. Look at all those medals!

 

[Guest Caner]

Slow down there, no one called you "dummy", that never crossed my mind.

 

Quite the opposite indeed; since you ask very intelligently loaded questions.

 

Just don't expect an answer from me, I have difficulty expressing what I mean at times (esp. like the times I face with charged questions)

 

That simply is where I stand...

 

[bissie]

Hey, look, guys,

 

don't fight over me.

 

already when I wrote them I did realize that, if one is thusly disposed, one can misinterpret my two selfcongratulory posts as rather naïve at best, pretty damn embarrassingly stupid, or at least conceited, at worst.

 

So I went ahead anyway, taking the risk of being ridiculed, and, hey presto, it came (pretty funnily at that).

 

So why did I, an acknowledged genius (3rd time lucky :-) - hope someone can take self-irony) do that?

 

Because, in its purported foolishness, there is a message there, for those that can read, think, and actually treat this Forum seriously rather than post stupid, albeit funny, comments for the sake of writing.

 

Take a simile: if you are convicted of multiple murder in a State without capital punishment and sitting out 5 lifetime convictions, running consecutively, what kind of deterrent would a sixth sentence be? So, why not kill a guard, a fellow prisoner or whatever then? Nothing really bad can happen to you which isn't happening already.

 

To cross the t:s and dot the i:s: making the statements I have done now ad nauseam, in my position, do I have anything to lose by lying? Well, you bet your last pair of underpants I do!!! If I lied knowingly, I would be made impossible professionally, and, as a consequence, in "my" circles (now that's another statement to ridicule, but true nevertheless) I would be ostracized. That includes the Swedish Musical Academy, where I am a member.

 

So I have upped the ante pretty much, I'd say. And, by "boasting", I have told you exactly how much. That was the reason.

 

Now you can opt to go on behaving like a 4-year-old and post some inanities (why Idi? Adolf had a lot of medals as well) or you can actually sit down, think a couple of moments (if the going gets tough, write to me privately, and I'll sort it out for you), and possibly tell me what OTHER alternative I had, by writing here ONLY, to persuade you that I actually never lie. I cannot readily think of any other way than telling you, what I stand to lose, were I to do so.

 

Which I did. You see, I think this Forum is a very important one and I try to treat it with the respect it deserves!

 

And, BTW, I did get my medals by being brave (who else would record what we do?) but not by killing other humans. Whether or not His Excellency Amin was brave or not really escapes me. He was the Heavyweight Boxing Champion of Uganda. To me that points to some bravery. Or stupidity. Or both.

 

Where I come from, the saying goes, and I agree with it: truth is the best pillow. Even for label executives.

 

Robert [email protected]

 

[Guest Caner]

I have been in Sweden (enjoyed a 2 month observership at Karolinska Institutet) when I was a student!. Love the Vasa Museet. Have been in Denmark twice for more than 2 months too; enjoyed Copenhagen even more than Stockholm I must confess (since you can drink at weekends!!!).

 

And I do not take music (it is just a hobby), myself or for that matter most of the comments seriously.

 

To make matters worse if somebody offers an intelligent/funny comment, I laugh -> -> -> That I believe was not a serious offense back in Sweden too...

 

PS: Why take it so serious?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mark Powell]

Wasn't fighting at all. I wasn't even following this thread.

 

I just just thought that wgscott's picture of some (presumably) South American tinpot dictator with all his self-awarded medals was a laugh.

 

[bissie]

Oh, NO!!!!!

 

This is an apology. Really. When one clicks on "Reply" one only sees the post one answers to. I misremembered and took you for wgscott, to whom my post really was directed.

 

I am most terribly sorry. Mea maxima culpa.

 

Robert

 

 

[bissie]

Usually I don't and I believe that I can laugh with most people, and certainly at myself. And I have a perspective on myself, knowing my many shortcomings well.

 

But, unlike for you, music happens to be my profession and the one thing which gets me going - every time - is when I am not being taken upon my word. Possibly ridiculous, but for me there is rather a lot at stake, which I was trying to prove in this way. My honesty and my profession are serious matters - at least to me.

 

If someone likened you to Dr. Mengele, even in a funny way (and I did acknowledge that Mark Powell

 

Edit!!!!! wgscott, NOT Mark Powell!!!!

 

was funny), I am not totally certain that you would laugh your heart out (assuming you are an M.D., further assuming that you don't work in a KZ and "furthest" assuming that you take your profession seriously). I am not even sure that, funny or not, it is a nice/correct/relevant thing to do.

 

Robert

 

 

[SeeHear]

Deja vu all over again!

 

[crisnee]

"@Mark & Caner vs Chris, Hey, look, guys, don't fight over me."

 

Robert, I truly appreciate eclassical.com and your way of doing business. It's innovative (I've always wanted to have the option of being able to buy a portion of an album at reasonable prices) honest (you offer money back on anything) and unlike many other businesses you're very responsive to your customers and critics.

 

For some reason a number of folks at CA have given you a hard time. My mission is to attempt to balance that out. Ok, that may be an exaggeration. Basically, I don't want to let this random ugliness toward you go unanswered, not so much for current posters, but for those who might come across this thread in the future and get the wrong (negative) impression of you and eclassical.com.

 

-Chris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[crisnee]

Well @Caner, all I can say is, that's pretty weak.

 

-Chris

 

 

 

 

[Bob Stern]

@bissie:

 

Now that eClassical is selling Pentatone recordings that originally were recorded by Pentatone in DSD format but are sold by eClassical in PCM format , can you tell us:

 

1. Who is performing the conversion from DSD to PCM, eClassical or Pentatone?

 

2. What software or hardware performs the conversion?

 

[Bob Stern]

Here are a few of my favorite BIS recordings that some of you may enjoy too:

 

Sibelius "The Tempest": Okko Kamu, Lahti Sym

 

Sibelius string quartet: Tempera Quartet

 

Hillborg "Peacock Tales": Martin Fröst + chamber ensemble.

 

Bach cantatas (many albums): Suzuki

 

Bach "Art of the Fugue": Fagius (organ)

 

Schnittke cello sonatas: Pöntinen, Roland

 

Prokofiev, piano sonata 7: Freddy Kempf

 

Most of you don't care for operatic singing, but try Peter Mattei singing the Largo al Factotum from Rossini's Barber of Seville. (Price roughly one dollar.)

 

 

 

[Jud]

Old chestnut (a/k/a "warhorse") - Vivaldi's Four Seasons - my favorite recording is the BIS recording of the Drottningholm Baroque. Anyone have any other favorite versions among those available at eClassical?

 

One more thing -

 

I honestly don't think my attitude is unreasonable. Do you require proof via an analysis on the package that whole-milk contains more fat than skim-milk?

 

Actually, at least here in the USA, there is standardized labeling that does just that. It helps make consumers comfortable with what they are buying. IMHO, in a relatively new business like high-res downloads, some sort of standardized resolution labeling and perhaps additional relevant provenance information is an important tool to help make potential customers comfortable with the idea of participating in this new market.

 

[Blu]

Hi Robert,

 

Love the eClassical site and have purchased 30 to 40 albums in the last 3 months, however their is a problem with the 30 second preview of music for classical tracks, it is way too short. I know you can click the play button again after 30 seconds but that becomes a chore, especially with 10 to 20 minute movements.

 

30 second previews was once available on iTunes, which may be fine if the tracks lasts 2 to 3 minutes, but even they now provide 90 second previews.

 

So could you please increase the preview time so I don't get RSI in trying to preview tracks on site, perhaps 2 to 3 minutes. As long as it is an increase over 30 seconds.

 

Enjoying the music,

Blu