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Well, I finally did it. I gave up my BlackBerry, and got a Samsung Galaxy phone. Yeah, I know, welcome to the 21st Century. Goodbye, old frenemy I previously only used my phone for talk, text, and organizer functions (calendar, contacts), and still felt -- still feel  -- that nothing beats the physical keyboard. But now my Nexus mini tablet is dying, and there's no good low-cost replacement. Which means I'm not buying another tablet. Which means I want a phone that knows how to do everything else. And despite what BlackBerry says and the apps it has and its tiny touch screen, when it comes to everything else, it sucks. And since I've been blogging about device decisions for nearly 15 years, I thought I should record this momentous decision here. My last post about a device decision was in 2012:  talk me out of buying a new blackberry (if you can) . The phone I bought then is the one I am now giving up. Thus I am breaking a personal rule of not replacing something that is st

For The Roses , 1972 Front Cover For The Roses  is often overlooked, sandwiched as it is between two masterpieces. Fans who missed it might be surprised at its richness -- musically, lyrically, and emotionally. It has always been one of my favourites. For the Roses  sits between Blue and Court and Spark  not only chronologically, but musically. There are the rich, deep piano chords of Blue , but heralds of another sound are mixed in -- woodwinds, reeds, and strings, Joni's own multi-track backing vocals -- hints here and there of what would be developed so astonishingly on Court and Spark . Listening to this now, I realize that in the past, listening on LP, I must have strongly favoured side two, beginning with "See You Sometime" and closing with "Judgement of the Moon and Stars (Ludwig's Tune)". This re-listen was an opportunity for me to hear the first six songs with a fresh mind. The album opens with a political song, a song of social consciousness, whic

This page has now been updated: best of wmtc, 2017, as chosen by Allan .