First, you need to figure out what type of game you are going to be playing. Are you going to just play low limit cash games? Are you a strict sit and go player? Are you planning on playing the multi-table tournaments?

Each site is known for their strengths as it comes to gameplay.

If you plan on playing strict sit-and-go and multi table tournaments, then your choice should either be Full Tilt Poker or Pokerstars. If you plan on playing strict cash games, then your choice should more then likely be Pokerstars.

Full Tilt Poker offers a number of guaranteed prize pool tournaments every 1-2 hours. Their tournaments are GREAT and many of them start with 3000 chips, a necessity in my eyes when playing these tournaments.

For cash games, Poker Stars has thousands of tables from .10/.25 all the way up to $50/$100.
They have the most players and they are generally the most trusted when it comes to cash games.

For sit and go’s I recommend that you check the structure for both Pokerstars and Full tilt, as their structures our often changing.

Now, many people are worried if Poker is even legal to play in the USA anymore. The USA did pass a law against sending money offshore. There are still many payment processors including epassporte, webmoney, and many credit/debt card processors. Also you always have the option of western union or check transfer.

No player has EVER been arrested for playing poker online.
These poker sites are here to stay and I believe you have NOTHING to worry about.
The bottom line is that poker was getting TOO big and the government cannot TAX it. This is why they flexed their muscle and got millions of players to not play. There is still millions of Americans playing online and there always will be.

Good luck at the tables!

Sean Moranse is a professional poker player. He has won numerous tournaments. He was named as one of the Top Ten Online best players by Poker Rankings Online, the authority in online poker rankings. He has compiled an award winning poker course that is available at tournamentwinner.com tournamentwinner.com

Instead of searching for a single word, prepare a list of synonyms (words that mean close to the same thing).

========== The Word ‘Can’ ==========

If you want to find the word that means ‘can’ as in ‘to be able to’, your list might be something like this:

can

able

capable

Now, if you search for ‘can’ in foreign language dictionaries, you might discover the following in the English-[Foreign Language] section:

* German *

Büchse, Dose, Kanister, können, dürfen

You know that German capitalizes all nouns, so you eliminate the first three words. The main definition for ‘können’ is ‘to be able to’, and the main definition for ‘dürfen’ is ‘to be allowed to’. Therefore, the correct word in this case is likely ‘können’.

* French *

poubelle, arrosoir, pouvoir

‘Poubelle’ means ‘garbage can’; ‘arrosoir’ means ‘watering-can’; and ‘pouvoir’ means ‘to be able to’. The correct word in French is probably ‘pouvoir’.

* Portuguese *

lata, ferro-velho, poder

‘Lata’ means ‘can, tin, tin can’; ‘ferro-velho’ means ‘garbage can’; and ‘poder’ means ‘to be able to’. The correct word in Portuguese would most likely be ‘poder’.

========== The Word ‘Check’ ==========

‘Check’ can mean ‘check mark’; ‘bill at a restaurant’; ‘part of a pattern of squares’; ‘to ensure or confirm’. If we are looking for the definition that means ‘to ensure or confirm’ we might make the following list:

check

ensure

verify

confirm

Now let’s see what we find when we investigate the word ‘check’:

* German *

Rechnung, Beschränkung, überprüfen, kontrollieren, Kontrolle, nachprüfen

First we remove the capitalized words (nouns). This leaves three words to research: ‘überprüfen’ (to examine, check); ‘kontrollieren’ (to control, supervise, to check); ‘nachprüfen’ (to check, verify); therefore, ‘nachprüfen’ appears to be most similar to our desired definition.

* Italian *

A search in an Italian dictionary gives us the following partial list:

controllare, verificare, assegno, assegno bancario

‘Controllare’ (to audit, check, check up on, supervise, verify); ‘verificare’ (to audit, check, check up on, supervise, verify); ‘assegno’ (check, cheque); and ‘assegno bancario’ (check, cheque).

It would appear that either ‘controllare’ or ‘verificare’ would suffice.

* Swedish *

The list of results:

besiktiga, kontrollera, check

Reverse-lookup gives us these definitions: ‘besiktiga’ (inspect, audit, check, check up on, supervise, verify); ‘kontrollera’ (audit, check, check up on, supervise, verify); and ‘check’ (check, cheque).

It seems that we could use either ‘besiktiga’ or ‘kontrollera’.

========== Resources ==========

Use your common sense, books, people, and the resources on your computer.

Whenever possible, try to find a dictionary that includes example sentences. Seeing a word used in context is the best way to zero in on its exact meaning.

Word processor thesauri and grammar functions will be valuable assets. Online dictionaries are plentiful - use them whenever you can. Make sure that you have at least one recently published printed dictionary and/or thesaurus nearby. When in doubt, try to get advice from a teacher, a friend who speaks the language, or an online forum.

Now, don’t be afraid to make mistakes. That’s the way we learn. Whenever possible try to use words in everyday speech. Remember: your language learning will progress more quickly if you don’t obsess over errors.

You will find more a-language-guide.com/” target=”_blank useful language resources and articles at A-Language-Guide.com. The site also has a growing number of a-language-guide.com/german-short-stories/” target=”_blank German-English short stories and poems in parallel translation.

They make use of the root and either the third of the seventh any chord. Sometimes referred to as “shell” voicings, these are commonly used as left-hand accompaniment in the piano stylings of Bud Powell, Horace Silver, Sonny Clark, and others who play primarily in the “be-bop” idiom.

With only two notes, they are harmonically incomplete; however, they do convey enough information to supplement many right hand melodies or improvised lines, especially those in the be-bop style where melodies are crafted to clearly outline the harmony.

Most Jazz pianists play these kind of voicings in a relatively sparse and percussive manner on medium or up-tempo tunes.

Shell voicings are most effective when the top note (played by the thumb) falls between D below middle C and the D next to middle C. These voicings are particularly useful in support an improvised line played in the middle range of the keyboard, which is stylistically typical of be-bop playing. If your melody or improvisation should dip lower and conflict with a voicing, here are some options:

1. Break the voice leading and pick the other inversion (e.g. Root- 3rd instead of Root-7th) which falls in a lower register;

2. For that moment play only the root, a Root-5th, or nothing at all in the left hand; or

3. Play the entire melody up an octave.

When you apply shell voicings to tunes, it is OK to break voice leading occasionally in order to select the inversion which best complements a given melody note (i.e. does not double it.) Since the voicings are likely to be somewhat rhythmically detached from each other, voice leading with shell voicings is not as critical as with other voicings. Nonetheless, it is still always best to avoid breaking voice leading within ii-V and ii-V-I progressions.

Always remember that any Root-3rd structure may be expanded into a Root-10th which sounds fuller.

Whether or not you are able to use a tenth in place of a 3rd depends upon the size of your left hand and spatial distance the 10th covers on the keyboard.

Physically, minor 10ths are easier to reach than major 10ths. In a ii-V progression, it is more natural to close in from a Root-10th voicing to a Root-7th, rather than expanding from a Root-7th to a Root-10th.

You just have to experiment to decide which tenth intervals fit your hands. But always STOP IMMEDIATELY if you experience any hint of pain in stretching a tenth or, for that matter, while playing anything on the piano.

Copyright 2005 RAW Productions

Ron Worthy is a Music Educator, Songwriter and Performer. To learn more about “shell voicings,” please visit: mrronsmusic.com mrronsmusic.com and playpianotonight.com playpianotonight.com

The best way to make the subjective practice of buying a piece of fine art is to be as objective as possible. In other words, to ensure that you get what you pay for, it is worthwhile learning a bit more about how the art market works and gathering as much information about the particular artist or style or period that you are interested in as you can. There are two principle ways of doing this. You can research the artist’s output and historical significance in art books and exhibition catalogues or read reviews by local and national art critics, and you can look through the sales records available in most major public libraries and art galleries to determine how much their work goes for.

A natural place to start researching price would be with the seller of the piece you are interested in. Judge whether the artist has a track record of selling works of art similar to the piece you like for amounts comparable to what you’re being asked to pay. A reputable dealer should have this information on file and be willing to discuss it with you; any reluctance to do so suggests that they have something to hide either about the piece or the amount they are asking for it. As an additional measure, it is worth reviewing the artist’s general sales history over the past five years to determine that their price has remained consistent, paying particular attention to the average price fetched.

Once you have established the price that the artist sells for, the research you have done about their life and output should give you an indication of the significance, and relative value, of the piece you are interested in. Is the piece a typical or atypical example of the artist’s output? Is it from the artist’s mature period or an early work which indicates how the artist’s mature style evolved (bear in mind that the majority of an artist’s earliest pieces are usually in museums or private hands, so invariably sell for a higher than usual price when they come onto the market)? Does it have any special significance in the artist’s life or interesting stories associated with it? Has it ever been discussed in print by experts or the artist themselves?

This investigation should also include uncovering its provenance, exhibition history and ownership history. As human beings require a passport to move from country to country, so do works of art, and the gallery should be able to provide you with the necessary certificates of authenticity. There are a number of areas to be mindful of, though, including the extent to which the individuals who authenticate or attribute the art to a particular artist are qualified to do so. Unless their authority is backed by some professional association with the artist, such as publishing papers in respected journals, curating museum or major gallery shows or having an extensive experience of trading in them, then their opinion is not worth a great deal. Alternatively they could be relatives, employees or descendants of the artist or have some form of legal or estate-granted entitlement to pass judgment on the work of art. And if the artist is alive, don’t hesitate to ask the gallery to get in touch with them in person to confirm that the art is authentic.

A further issue to consider is whether the art is original or reproduced by mechanical means, because one of the principle ways art dealers make money is by trading in limited edition prints, where the artists only input in the creative process has been signing a digital or photographic copy of the original. A thorough investigation of the piece, combined with asking questions about it, should uncover this, with the added benefit of revealing how much the seller knows about what they are selling. When you are happy with the asking price and ready to buy, ensure you get a detailed receipt describing the art and its condition and including a money back guarantee to protect you if, at any point in the future, you find out that the art was not properly represented. This receipt should be in addition to the other documentation that the seller provides relating to the art’s history, provenance and authenticity.

But before getting to this point, there’s the issue of which places you should look to source the art. The first piece of advice here is to have a clear idea of the type of art work you want and set a fixed price above which you will not go. Having done that, it makes sense to throw your net as wide as possible and explore all avenues, with particular focus on the following three options:

• Auction Houses. This can include anything from the local auction house in your area to the big auction houses in London. Naturally, the more prestigious the auctioneer is, the greater confidence you can have in the authenticity of the piece of art, and the higher the price can go. Bear in mind also that auction houses use presale estimates, reserves, and opening bid amounts which should give you a rough idea of the amount the piece might go for, though when it comes to auction time, pretty much anything goes, so you should have your wits about you as you bid against experts in the field.

• Art Galleries. As has been previously mentioned, walking into an art gallery can be a daunting experience. But just remember one thing: all the gallery’s show of respectability and wealth, from the good address to the soft furnishings and discreet light fittings, has been built from selling fine art to its customers. In other words, when you buy a painting from a gallery, you’re paying not only for the painting but the well appointed environment which gave you the confidence to buy it in the first place. Also, as much as a good gallery may have the necessary expertise to tell you all about the painting you are proposing to buy, they also know how to spot an amateur collector and persuade them to buy a piece they are not a hundred percent sure about.

• Internet. While sites like eBay carry obvious risks about the provenance and condition of the piece of fine art you are thinking of buying, established, authenticated sellers have several obvious advantages to more conventional ways of buying art. Above all, of course, because there is no actual gallery space, you are not subsidising their rent when you buy from them. And once you have found a piece of art that catches your eye you can do all the necessary research about it in your own time without anybody standing over you attempting to influence your decision, in addition to getting a second opinion about it from anyone with access to a computer and the internet.

Of these options, buying art online is becoming the most popular due to the advantages outlined above. But which site to visit first to look into the kind of art that is available? Well, you could do a lot worse than to have a look through Artbank.com, the UK’s premier fine art trading website, which has a tremendous variety of pieces on sale at all prices. These can be reviewed in the comfort of your own home to scale against a virtual wall and with reference to a colour chart to determine how they might look against various backgrounds. And if you particularly like the piece, you can also check out the other pieces the seller has for sale, all without the pressure of having anyone look over your shoulder. Paintings, prints, photographs, sculptures and ceramics are all categorised into styles and national schools for easy searching, or you can simply key in your favourite painter to see if any of their work is up for sale on the site. But don’t despair if they’re not, because Artbank will send you an email to notify you whenever a piece by them comes up.
The beauty of Artbank is that if there is a particular piece you like, you will be able to contact the seller directly to negotiate the price and arrange shipping and handling, because Artbank only charges a fee for using the site. There is no middle man like there is with auction houses and no part of the sale price is being used to pay the rent. In other words, Artbank is the best of both worlds, whilst also offering you the kind of choice and variety that no bricks and mortar gallery can compete with.

Whatever way you choose to buy fine art, though, always ensure that the art has the necessary documentation to authenticate it and is being sold in line with the current market value. Who knows, maybe you have the makings of being the next Peggy Guggenheim, but whatever your aspirations, have fun and the best of luck in getting the piece of art you really love!

Artbank is an artbank.com” target=”_blank online fine art gallery and trading website where quality art is sold by art galleries, art dealers and private/corporate individuals and collectors. Artbank provides a platform where artists can display, promote and sell their art.

You might have a basic camera at present. The next step would to think about getting one with added features such as shutter speed control or aperture control. Even better, choose a camera that lets you select full manual override. This allows you full control over shutter speed and aperture.

With manual control you can still let your camera choose an exposure setting but you can override the settings. Your camera will advise you but you can define the settings for your own particular needs.

Take, as an example, a beautiful coloured kite in the sky. The camera will choose settings that will take into account all the bright bits of the sky. The kite will be in shadow. With manual settings you can give the image more exposure and get the kite just right – vibrant with all those lovely colours.

By having aperture and shutter speed settings, you can choose how much light is let in and for how long. The wider the aperture the more light that is let in and the more the background will be out of focus. The opposite is true for small apertures. The faster the shutter speed, the more you can freeze action. With slower shutter speeds you can create blur.

These easy steps from a basic camera to something slightly more sophisticated will start you thinking more about your images.

Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site theshutter.co.uk theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at thephotographysite.blogspot.com thephotographysite.blogspot.com

As a child, Mayer wasn’t into music. He can play the clarinet but making a career was far from his mind. But watching Michael J. Fox perform “Johnny Be Goode” in the movie “Back to the Future”, he soon began to appreciate music. His next door neighbour lends him various jazz and blues tapes and one from Stevie Ray Vaughn which he began listening over and over. Soon enough, he was able to learn and play the guitar at the tender age of 13. By 16, John Mayer was performing at clubs. In his senior year, he joined a band called Villanova Junction. But he did not stay for long.

Mayer enrolled in the Berklee College of Music in Boston after High school but dropped out after a year feeling that his classes no longer challenged him. He’d rather play and write music, not study them. He chose to cut his studies short and move to Atlanta, Georgia where he started playing at local clubs and started making demos and sending out copies. He was starting to build a fan base in Atlanta in clubs such as Eddie’s Attic.

John Mayer released his first EP in 1999 entitled, “Inside Wants Out”. A year later his breakthrough CD was released. “Room for Squares” featured smash hits including “No Such Thing” (which spawned from a conversation he had with his mom!). By 2000, John was signed with Columbia Records, which re-released “Room for Squares” and made him a multi-platinum artist.

In 2003, he won his first ever Grammy for “Best Male Pop Vocal Performance” for his ever popular “Your Body is a Wonderland”. He also released his first concert DVD “Any Given Thursday” that same year. The concert was recorded at the Oak Amphitheatre in Birmingham, Alabama.

On September 9th 2003, he released his second much anticipated album called “Heavier Things” and on 2005, bagged him the “Song of the Year” Grammy for his song “Daughters” beating contenders such as Kanye West and Alicia Keys. He also won “Best Male Pop Vocal Performance” for the second time.

John Mayer has done a number of collaborations. Rubbing elbows with music big hits such as Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, BB King, and John Scofield. He was even lucky enough to tour with Herbie Hancock for a show at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. To date, John Mayer is on of the most respected guitarists of our time and many musicians look up to him, old and young alike. He even gained respect from hip-hop artists like Kayne West. Everyone wants a piece of this incredible talent.

In the spring of 2004, he formed the John Mayer Trio with bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan, two of the most respected musicians in the industry, Jordan being a legendary producer and Palladino as one of the band members of The Who. The trio plays a combination of Rock and Blues music. They released their live album called TRY! in November 2005 and began touring in sold out concert venues around the country. The album includes songs such as “Vultures” and “Who Did You Think I Was?” which made a statement that this band is serious in their blues and rock roots. Though the trio is now defunct after announcing the end of their performance in the Tempe Music Festival in March 2006, their music will still be remembered as one of the best.

For his new album “Continuum”, Mayer promises a different approach to his music, and producer Steve Jordan adds it will still be in the lines of their trio style which combines signature pop, with the feel, sound and groove of blues music. Mayer’s album release is set on September 12th. His first single, “Waiting on the World to Change” debuted on his website on MySpace last July 11th. The song was the most downloadable single on iTunes that week and ranked number 25 in the Billboard Hot 100 Charts, proving that he still has it after a long hiatus from recording this album.“Continuum” was released in September 12, 2006.

John Mayer also enjoys blogging. A hobby he picked up after creating a profile page in MySpace. He updates this regularly and shares his thoughts to all his fans and enjoys promoting other artists he likes listening to. He also revamped his website and now it’s the flagship version of johnmayer.com johnmayer.com You can also see his latest posts in the blog section.

As of press time, John Mayer is touring the US and across the globe to promote his latest album and spreading the good music of Blues in his own point of view. The tour kicks off this year in January 25th in Jacksonville, Florida.

Bienvenido David is an active contributor of the wikimusicguide.com/ Music Guide. He is also an online retailer of webbyshop.com Magic Sing karaoke microphones and magazinesubscriptions.ws Magazine Subscriptions.

Where I come from
The grass is very soft
Mama’s homemade wine is strong

Where I come from
The train tracks divide the town
Like the Great Wall of China

Where I come from
White and black folk are kin
But they don’t speak of this proud lineage

Where I come from
We scream and scream
And we scream some more

Where I come from
There are no queers, since
Kinfolk like me best in Cali

Where I come from
Whites pity blacks
Mothers pity unmarried daughters
Fathers pity unruly sons and

Where I come from
Everyone loves and hates queers

Bob Said Goodbye

And this time he meant it

No, not waiting
nor wanting God,
family, or friends
to come to
the rescue

There was but one solutions

Bob said goodbye
he did not
look back

He did not
care to think
himself selfish
while sitting in
the bathtub
unconscious
nor did he worry
about all those left
behind to deal
with his decision

He was bold and brave
he did not
waiver
clear and decisive
till the end when

Bob said goodbye

ONE DAY

-Ramekon O’Arwisters

Dragging your long wavy hair

Down my face, tingling as

The ends touch my skin

Down toward my chest

Down, down still further

Your face hidden in my lap

Your hair now a mountain

How round and

Smooth the peak

How perfect the slope

How happy I am

How about the secret of the fours and tens?

The four and ten pay a handsome 9:5 reward, so if you bet $5 on both numbers, you will win $9 if either one hits. Of course, if you bought the same numbers you would win a little more, but you will need to make at least a $25 bet on both ($50 total) to make this profitable.

Wanna know the secrets that craps pros use to profit from $5 bets on the fours and tens?

Let’s find out!

What you will be looking for is three hits on the four or ten to make your money. If the shooter is a good one, you will more than likely make this play, and this is how you’ll do it.

First, place $5 on both the four and ten. Let’s say now the four hits and you win $9. Take both numbers down and you have $19 in your hand ($14 from the 4 and $5 from the 10). Add a buck to this and place the four again for $20. When you win you get $36 plus your $20 back. Pocket the $6 and place the four a third time for $50. This third hit wins you $90, and you take it all down. You have turned your initial investment of $5 into $90 in only three hits.

Of course if the ten hit first you would be betting on that number instead of the four. And, you should bet only if the shooter is qualified to bet on - does he bet big on himself and look like he will be a good shooter? If not, don’t bet on him - find another table or wait for the next shooter.

In 36 sample rolls, you should see 3 fours and 3 tens, a total of 6 hits - the same number as the 7, so choosing a good shooter is very important. Once you do, this three step play will work more often than you think. It’s a great way of turning only $5 into $90 in a short amount of time.

Give it a try the next time you see a qualified shooter!

Pssst…! Now you know the secrets of the fours and tens!

© 2005 by Larry Edell

You can get a FREE issue of The Crapshooter Newsletter, the only newsletter devoted exclusively to craps! Just send two first class stamps to The Crapshooter, Dept EZA, PO Box 421440, San Diego CA 92142. You’ll also receive a FREE catalog and a special FREE offer!

Once you go short handed you should have a good idea of what type of player your opponents are. Some of the key hands that you need to know how to play now are big slick (A-K), A-Q, and A-J. First off, always raise with these hands short handed. A great rule for good short handed sit n go strategy is: “If you’re not willing to raise with it, you shouldn’t call with it.” With less players, there is far less chance that someone hits a giant hand, so if you have one of those ace hands, raise before the flop, and I always raise after the flop if I miss.

These types of hands miss the flop completely almost 70% of the time, so that means if you have A-Q and miss, there’s still a chance your opponent has J-Q and also missed. So good sit and go strategy now is to bet pre-flop and bet after the flop. I can’t begin to count all the times I took down a pot with a raise when I had ace high. Even if there is a scary flop, like 5-6-9 all spades, raise anyway. Flushes statistically do not come around often, and most likely everyone will fold–a timid player may even fold a straight. If someone re-raises, then I make an easy fold, but I take this pot using this method often enough that it pays off for me.

Short handed, I like to raise any ace pre-flop, and if the table is weak, I’ll raise any king pre-flop. Often times you can take down some pots pre-flop, which once the blinds get high enough, make this a profitable play, and if you keep raising after the flop you will get the most out of kings and aces you hit, and the other players will see you take enough hands that they will fold out more often. I like to be the player that makes other players groan when I get into a pot, the kind where they decide, “If he raises, I’m out.”

I also remind myself, though, that even if aggressive is good, don’t get carried away. If I have Q-9 suited, and someone goes all in, it’s not worth risking half my chips for that, especially with high blinds and especially if I’m the one bullying the table. Why give away half my bullying strength? Let someone else eliminate this person, unless you have something like pocket A’s. Also pay attention to style. Good sit and go strategy is like any type of good poker strategy: if you play a sit n go game, you want to exploit your opponents’ weaknesses to build the bank roll.

Mayoor Patel is the writer for the website squidoo.com/sit-n-go-strategy/ squidoo.com/sit-n-go-strategy/. Please visit for information on all things concerned with squidoo.com/sit-n-go-strategy/ Sit N Go

Well the bad news for the sharks is that the fish pool seems to have dried up! It just isn’t as easy as it used to be to clean up at Party Poker.
There are a few possible reasons as to why this might have happened and they are outlined below.

More competition from other sites.
Party Poker Ring tournament tables – where you just join in and play - have a minimum betting level of $0.50/$1.00 for their real money poker games. This is actually one of the highest entry levels in the industry, many sites now offer $0.25/$0.50 tables and there are even some who go as low as $0.10/$0.25 and $0.05/$0.10. The minimum deposit at Party Poker is also high, currently it’s $50 and again this is much higher than some sites.

Increased awareness through books and ebooks.
Recently there’s been a large number of books and ebooks on the subject of Party Poker, leading to more educated players at the site. The information in the books usually tends to be along the same lines and is basically fairly sound advice, so with more and more people buying and reading these poker manuals the standard of play is bound to improve.

Economic climate.
The economy in general has taken a bit of a downturn since most of the Party Poker manuals were written and most people now feel that the dollar in their pocket is worth slightly less than it was. This means of course that they are more careful about searching out less expensive options to play while they are learning.

Bonuses.
Party Poker being the industry leader attracts many new sign-ups daily and in order to try and compete the other sites need to offer better sign-up bonuses. You need to deposit your own money to get the bonus released so a lot of new players are just staying and playing at the site until their bonus is released.

As an aside, the Party Poker site’s graphics leave a bit to be desired - they are clunky and old fashioned and none of the players are smiling! Also it’s not all that user-friendly for new players and the information provided in the lobby is fairly sparse.

Article by Ian McIntosh of Love-Texas-Holdem.com Love-Texas-Holdem.com. Check out the site for all the latest information on Texas Holdem tournaments and Love-Texas-Holdem.com/poker-freerolls.html poker freerolls.

Please feel free to use this poker article on your website, newsletter or blog as long as this resource box is left intact and there’s a live link to the site.

Perhaps it’s the instant recognition that his tone brings. It only takes a note or two and most radio-aware folks can peg a Hall & Oates tune cold. Recognizability and ubiquity tend to dull our perception of the genuine quality of a given thing. It’s as if we’re using the sense organs and mental processing of countless other individuals to engage with our experience of life.

Take for example Mount Rushmore. Its been photographed and sculpted and drawn and put on stamps and printed on license plate and emblazoned u-haul vans and used as a location for movies.

Close your eyes for a second and think, ” Mount Rushmore “. Please, go ahead and do it. I’ll bet a fairly solid image came to your mind’s eye. Some vaguely tannish and grey rocks sculpted in the likeness of a group of presidents. Maybe a chain of associations sprang forward in the wake of your initial image. Some of these might relate to actual facts connected with the site. You may know the name of the artist. You may have been there with your family. Someone in your family might have been born, died, gotten married, won the lottery, given you a present, played “Smoke on the Water” on accordion, stolen something from you, lost their mind, etc. right after your visit and when you see a picture of Mount Rushmore your mind shuffles through these events. Along with these associations are the endless images you’ve seen of the site.

These images and conceptions, while intrinsic to our knowledge of Mount Rushmore have no real relationship to the actual thing. They are in fact a cloudy barrier or filter we have placed between ourselves and an object. Occasionally, particularly when our focused perception is otherwise occupied, we have a powerful and direct experience of something. Perhaps we’re sick or tired or just in a very calm and receptive state. Whatever the set of circumstances are, for some reason the familiar suddenly reveals its true nature and stuns us. We look at the faces of Mount Rushmore and they just simply are. Their nature confronts us and we see them for the first time. The message might be beautiful, it might be horrific but we’re getting a hit of the true essence of something and it’s not being mediated by either a pre-existing image bank or our associations. This is how Daryl Hall’s voice hit me while listening to the recently re-issued Robert Fripp album “Exposure”.

The album was originally released in 1979 and was radically alter between the recording of it and the eventual release. Central to this alteration were the objections of Daryl Hall’s manager Tommy Mottola and the people overseeing Debbie Harry’s career in “Blondie”. The tracks were deemed to experimental, the association with Fripp viewed as commercial suicide and as per usual in the music business, the “business” won out. Big chunks of it were re-recorded and used the voice talents of Peter Hammill (Van der Graaf Generator) with only two of Hall’s contributions remaining.

So in this re-issue you get the original release, a later 1983 remix and then a few of the unreleased Daryl Hall tracks. I have no idea how these two artists came to work together on this album but I’m glad they did. On paper the pairing seems so unlikely as to be absurd. It’s just hard to imagine the precise and hypnotic guitar figures of Robert Fripp being caressed by the soulful and rich voice of Daryl Hall. The fact is though, it works.

On the song “North Star” we hear the true nature of that Daryl Hall voice and it simply is a flooring experience. The tone is rich and sweet while still remaining raspy. The phrasing of the lyrics and the occasional use of sustained falsetto sent me running to the ipod to dial up Hall &Oates “She’s Gone” and “Sara Smile” and realize that he’s always been that good. In that voice I was hearing something not actually related to the lyrics. There was an intensity, depth and presence I’d never allowed through before. I heard the voice of a seeker. I heard the voice of loss. I heard the voice of tender resignation to the wounding ways of life. Sometimes we are privileged to experience a blissful moment and Daryl Hall brings many on this album.

The music bears the stamp of Robert Fripp’s quests and inquiries into the nature of guitar sound. Using a tapeloop system dubbed “Frippertronics” he creates complex webs of notes that repeat a shimmering metallic mantra and shift upwards and down. All of the instruments on this album are played with virtuoso cleanliness that never is a means unto itself. The technical aspects of the playing are harnessed and brought to bear on the overall groove of each piece. At times this lends a surprising funk quality to some of the music which if not present could come across as stiff and herky-jerky.

There is an inscrutable element to Robert Fripp and his music. You get a sense of ambiguity about his motives. Is he trying to tell us a musical tale with a new language or is he simply following the call of an internal and unknowable muse to satisfy his agenda. This ambiguity provides a palpable tension in his music and this tension is so interesting we are compelled to keep listening. It’s like listening to someone ask themselves questions and hearing the various answers they come up with. None of which the questioner seems to attach more meaning or fondness for than any of the others. I often feel that Robert Fripp isn’t a person who wants to be trusted. He likes to keep us on our toes. It’s like he’s a mountain guide who’s not sure we’re worthy of making it to the summit. While this can be frustrating it’s perhaps better for us in the long run. We’re not provided with any easy answers in his music so we have to actually listen. In this listening we are rewarded. The rewards vary and can range from hearing Daryl Hall’s magnificent voice for the first time to understanding the power of repetition and juxtaposition.

No matter what, we come away from “Exposure” enriched and expanded and if that isn’t worthwhile, I don’t know what live music reviews, cd reviews, blogsandiego.com/” target=”_blank music news & features are!

Playing above your bankroll forces you to play a more conservative style of poker. By playing conservative, you are giving a huge edge to your more aggressive opponents. They take advantage of players who are unwilling to play marginal hands. Most times everyone at the table has a marginal hand. Always play at a level where you don’t really care about the money at the table. If you really care about losing any money, you shouldn’t be playing. Develop your focus for observing opponents and trust your reads. It will take some time to fully trust your reads. Over time, your instinct will be dead on and it will seem like you are playing your opponents with their hands face up. This skill is way more rewarding than any amount of money you could ever win playing poker.

Napoleon Will is a self-published author and semi-professional poker player. He updates the poker review and strategy site
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