As long as you guys care to do this in our public forum, expect your discussion to be butted in on.
So Dan's beef is business, and he's right. Period. If Bob couldn't treat all his customers with the same decency, respect, and service, then forget him. Peter's defense of his friend is personal, and he's right. Period. A deeper glimpse into the reality of Bob and the life he led certainly biases any newly-forming opinions and/or perspectives from those of us who knew little or nothing about the man. But Dan's choice of quoting someone else's opinion is just that, and nothing more. If it were published by the person who originally said it, that's slanderous. If it were an opinion explicitly expressed in this forum by Dan himself, that would be slanderous. But it's neither -- it's simply a quote that Dan uses to back up his own assertions and experiences. So what? Lastly, the choice of writing 5 paragraphs on the subject with points that invite response and then trying to force the conversation closed strikes me as closed-minded and immature, even if I agree with the premise it hides behind. Enough, indeed. -Robert ----- Original Message ----- From: "Peter Fraser" <pjfra...@alamedanet.net> To: "Antique Phonograph List" <phono-l@oldcrank.org> Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 3:38 AM Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Best sounding Phonograph > if calling a guy "a bitter old cripple" isn't slander to you, i'd > hate to hear how you speak of your enemies. and even if these are > someone else's words, you repeated them, so now they're yours. > > i'm sorry you've never heard any of his best work. maybe someday > you'll be lucky enough to do so. > > bob suffered from polio and was indeed a "cripple." he was confined > to his apartment, literally dragging himself around on the floor at > times. the old phonos and their music were a way for him to escape > the hell he was enduring in the present by transporting him to a > sweeter past. and many of us benefitted from his confinement because > it gave him the time to fiddle and tweak and refine the old > soundboxes with often-miraculous results. ever delaminated an edison > ricepaper diaphragm to see how many layers it has? ever hand-shaved > an orthophonic needle bar to lighten it and see how that might > improve sound? > > damn tootin' he was cranky at times. and sure, he came up with some > outlandish claims and psuedo-scientific theories. but when he was > on, he could make a soundbox sound better than anything you've heard, > and he could be the most engaging, funny, and kind person you've met. > > finally the pain was too much for him, and he did himself in. but > the last thing he did, and we know this from comparing the postmark > and the police report, was mail a trove of excellent reproducers to a > long-time customer and fellow enthusiast..."hold on to these...i'll > be going away" > > yeah, he hung up on me dozens of times too, but he was my friend. > > ok, enough. back to the music, please. > > On Apr 12, 2006, at 1:12 AM, Dan Kjeldgaard wrote: > > > No, I have no hard feelings toward the guy; I rebuilt his garbage > > and made > > it sound nice, and that's the point of our hobby. > > Nice is nice, yes? Accusing people of "slander" is possibly less > > than nice, > > no? Yes. > > > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Peter Fraser" <pjfra...@alamedanet.net> > > To: "Antique Phonograph List" <phono-l@oldcrank.org> > > Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 3:57 AM > > Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Best sounding Phonograph > > > > > >> well, congratulations then, you finally got your money's worth by > >> airing it all out in a public forum. hope you feel better. > >> > >> On Apr 12, 2006, at 12:50 AM, Dan Kjeldgaard wrote: > >> > >>> No, he sent me the worst sounding junk in my experience; there > >>> are no > >>> apologies to be made. I have heard better soundboxes after they > >>> sat in > >>> cellars for 60 years. On top of that, every attempt to rectify was > >>> met by > >>> nasty cursing and disconnects. My "charity" feelings are killed > >>> when > >>> someone steals anything more than $50 from me; lower than that, I > >>> figure > >>> the guy needs the food. > >>> > >>> Waltrip made impossible claims, and delivered nothing more. > >>> Whatever success > >>> he had must have been by pure chance. > >>> > >>> > >>> ----- Original Message ----- > >>> From: "Peter Fraser" <pjfra...@alamedanet.net> > >>> To: "Antique Phonograph List" <phono-l@oldcrank.org> > >>> Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 3:31 AM > >>> Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Best sounding Phonograph > >>> > >>> > >>>> gee, i dunno. slandering a dead guy just doesn't seem right. but > >>>> maybe it's ok for you, because he can't answer back. > >>>> > >>>> he had a lot of problems and he pissed off a lot of people, but he > >>>> also was way more dedicated to these old phonos than most of us > >>>> could > >>>> ever afford the time to be. if you still have any wondertones, > >>>> suggest you pass them along to others who might appreciate them. > >>>> mine stay with me til i go deaf, then will be passed along to > >>>> people > >>>> who'll cherish them as i do. why? because there won't be any more > >>>> coming. > >>> .com/oldcrank > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Phono-L mailing list > > Phono-L@oldcrank.org > > > > Phono-L Archive > > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org/archive/ > > > > Support Phono-L > > http://www.cafepress.com/oldcrank > > -- Peter > pjfra...@alamedanet.net > > > > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > Phono-L@oldcrank.org > > Phono-L Archive > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org/archive/ > > Support Phono-L > http://www.cafepress.com/oldcrank >
