This product is a pre-trol. What, you may well ask, is a "pre-trol?" Well, Threshold Corp. calls its FET-10 a preamplifier, but it isn't, really. In fact, it isn't an It at all; it's a Them. Only half of Them is a preamp, and you can buy each half separately. If that sounds a little confusing, maybe it's because some of the old, familiar language of audio is starting to lose its relevance.
Klyne Audio Arts has an almost Zen-like approach to the design of its products. Like the best Japanese designs, Klyne's preamps are aesthetically pleasing in appearance, do exactly what they're supposed to, and their controls are not only where you would expect them to be, but have an almost sensually smooth action. Internal construction, too, is a work of art—the kind of design which, transferred to a tapestry, would grace the wall of any listening room. You have to see the insides of a Klyne preamp to appreciate how attractive-looking an audio component can be. But physical beauty is only one aspect of Stan Klyne's designs; of all the electronics manufacturers I know of, Klyne Audio Arts also makes products more adjustable than any others, so as to appeal to the needs of what I call compulsive tweaks.
At <I>On an Overgrown Path</I>, blogger Pliable ruminates on the Order of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and the glorious music the order has inspired.
There's Poulenc's searing, glorious opera, of course, but did you know the sisters commissioned a piece by Handel?
You either loved Molly Ivins—well, I should probably just stop there. If you loved the written word and valued wit as much as spleen, you just did love Molly. I'll miss her.
It reads like the plot of an Edgar Rice Burroughs novel: 145 Roman soldiers survive the death of their general, Marcus Crassus, and, as mercenaries, fight their way across the ancient world, winding up in China.
Huckleberry reminds me that I don't have the big ears in this household. Plus, <I>his</I> swivel.
Bagheera is feeling royally cranky.
<I>Scientific American</I> takes a look at online dating.
<I>Firing Squad</I> has an interesting take on DRM. Warning: the site has super-annoying "content links that are just as annoying as "malicious viruses and rootkits."
Shalom Auslander didn't review Mailer's <I>The Castle</I>. He really, really wanted to. He just couldn't bring himself to <I>read</I> it. I know what he means.