Author: DOuG pRATt

Oinkyo No More?

Onkyo TX-NR686 A/V Receiver

As I mentioned in March, my excellent Onkyo TX-NR676 receiver has Chromecast Built-in. I was about to write more about what I’ve learned from using Google Chromecast for audio, when news of Onkyo’s demise appeared.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marksparrow/2022/05/14/classic-japanese-audio-brand-onkyo-finally-files-for-bankruptcy/

The iPod has been discontinued, Bose is laying off, and now Onkyo is no more. Onkyo’s trouble can be blamed on their staying stuck in the classic receiver-centric model of home hi-fi. They did a great job of succeeding in the A/V receiver market, but most people now favor sound bars over true surround-sound systems. My thanks to the Onkyo software developer(s) who pushed out a final firmware update a few months ago, before the axe fell.

Follow-up: The Onkyo and Pioneer audio brands were sold last September to VOXX/Sharp, with Sharp itself being a brand that has gone under in the past. It remains to be seen how well this new business arrangement will work out in the long run.

https://www.klipsch.com/news/pac-response-to-onkyo-bankruptcy-filing

Monkey Business

The first time I heard “Monkey Man” by the Rolling Stones was on an 8-track tape of the “Let It Bleed” album that one of my sisters had.

The song was recorded in April, 1969, three months before Brian Jones died. Every time I listen to “Monkey Man” I hear Jones’ distinctively ethereal influence in the recording, balancing Mick and Keith’s straightforward approach. Despite Brian not being listed as present in the studio.

The Wrongs of Gun Rights

“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun.” — Wayne Lapierre, CEO of the NRA

There was a good guy with a gun at the Tops Friendly supermarket. Security guard Aaron Salter, who is now dead, was a former Buffalo police lieutenant.

Don’t know yet how the alleged shooter came to have the weapon in question. What is known is that a year ago there was an indication of future trouble.

In June 2021, police in Broome County were called by officials of a local high school who told them Gendron had threatened violence in comments made to fellow students.

“A school official reported that this very troubled young man had made statements indicating that he wanted to do a shooting, either at a graduation ceremony, or sometime after,” the same government official familiar with the case told The News.

State Police were sent to investigate and Gendron, under a section of state mental health laws, was referred for a mental health evaluation and counseling, the official said.

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/mass-shooter-accused-of-pure-evil-killing-of-10-in-buffalo-hate-crime-named-in/article_f9ef9bac-d3d9-11ec-9eaf-cbcafe308f9c.html

Kyle Rittenhouse II?

10 dead, suspect arrested in mass shooting at supermarket

The gunman was identified as Payton Gendron of Conklin, a community about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Buffalo in New York state, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.

https://apnews.com/article/buffalo-supermarket-shooting-442c6d97a073f39f99d006dbba40f64b

Payton Gendron, age 11, attending a 2015 Vet School open house at Cornell University
It’s been reported the alleged shooter wrote online of his belief in extreme right wing ideas, like white replacement. Who or what could have influenced him so profoundly as an adolescent?

He was 11 years old when Trump announced his candidacy for the 2016 Presidential election. Could there be a connection? I’m just asking a question, like Tucker Carlson would do.

On the Road and in the Sky

There was quite a mix of hit songs in 1968, that year of great musical transition, as FM radio began to rival AM. There were soft singles like “Love is Blue” by Paul Mauriat, and “This Guy’s in Love With You” by Herb Alpert. But there was also “Hush” by Deep Purple and this one by Canned Heat.

Normal Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky” hit the charts a couple of years later. I heard something of “On the Road Again” in it, and whenever I hear one of those records I always think of the other.