junction

Soul Junction
$11.98
Red Garland is most famous for playing in Miles Davis' first great quintet with John Coltrane, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones. This CD came out the same year the quintet was winding down. Red had John Coltrane, but Donald Byrd is on trumpet, George Joyner is on bass, and Art Taylor is drumming. The blues title track opens as a trio. Unfortunately, and perhaps it's the bass playing, but it sounds in parts like a second-rate blues band. Things get better when Coltrane and Byrd enter the song, but Red would have benefited from a song edit or another take. The rest of the CD is much better. "Woody 'N You" and "Birks' Works" are both Dizzy Gillespie songs. Coltrane's saxophone is average for Coltrane, but Donald Byrd sounds better than average for Byrd. The next two jazz standards, by Duke Ellington and then Vincent Youmans, are both taken at a fast pace and have good playing throughout.

Despite the rough start, the CD gets pretty good and earns its 4 stars. The songs are very typical of jazz in 1957, so anyone looking for a CD from jazz's classic era would be interested in this disc.

American Lighting 043J-BR Direct Hardwire Junction Box for PRIORI T2 Fixtures with 12-Inch Extension, Bronze
$30.90
American Lighting LLC 043J-BR The PRIORI T2 will change your mind about Fluorescent lighting! New subminiature T2 technology provides light that is bright, color accurate and conserves energy. Available accessories include junction boxes (for direct wire applications), power cords (for a plug-in system), extension cords and extra bulbs. FEATURES: -Direct wire junction -Available in bronze or white -Male/female molex connections -(2) Knockouts -Includes 12" extension -UL/cUL listed -Overall dimensions: 1" H X 7.375" W X 2.125" D Color: Bronze

Up The Junction
$0.99

Junction
$14.99
Junction is a movie of two women, Michaela and Victoria, their strange mothers, and the even stranger men in their lives. I would give it an "R" rating, with TV codes A, V, L, S. Women may like this movie because of the strong female characters. Men may like the movie because of several sexual situations, though there is no actual nudity.

Michaela is a photographer who lives with her alcoholic and seriously ill mother. Victoria is a college student who lives with her mentally ill mother Beverly, who is terrified of Pilgrims. Michaela and Victoria share a connection that neither is aware of at the beginning of the movie. Their life paths will collide.

The movie starts poorly, in my opinion, with a weird sound-only start interrupted by flashes of video violence. This scene is a flash-forward to a climactic scene late in the movie. But the movie steadily gets better, even though the lives of the women at the beginning are extremely depressing.

Shane is a handsome young college student with a surprising background, a willing object of a seduction. Chris is a handsome cactus store owner who knows some secrets. `The Danimal' writes papers for women for sexual favors. Jeff is a critical mentor for Michaela. And James plays a short but very key role.

Michaela has good facial expressions and can look cute and has an inner glow. Victoria is a beautiful young women long curly hair. She shows a broad range of emotion, with subtle expression and vocal intonation. She's very sweet and innocent in one scene, and cruelly scheming in another. Has she inherited some of her mother's craziness?

The movie ends much better than it starts, and is entertaining throughout. Very good camera work and cinematography with beautiful Arizona desert scenes. The rare music is very well done and adds a lot to the emotion of the scenes. A very decent little film.