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I feel sorry for your cynical view of life!

Whew!

So much negativity in one post.

Yes, Virginia, I have friends who manufacture audio equipment. Deal with it. Why are they my friends? Common interests, shared experiences, resonant personalities. Are such people any of my closest friends? Not really. We do not visit each others' homes or go on vacations together. But, getting together at CES or HE is always nice. I also have scads of friends associated with audio who are not manufacturers: fellow writers, publicists, retailers, etc. Why should it be OK for me to be friends with Ken Kessler but not Dick Shahinian?

I am a professional, and have been in pressure-cooker situations you could (I assume) only dream of--they made a movie about one I was in--and I think that John Atkinson's trust in my professionalism is warranted. I have covered products from people who certainly rub me the wrong way, and I have covered products from people I admire, and at the end of the day I put that all aside and do my best to advise people who work for a living how best to spend money on audio equipment.

And indeed, I can make unbiased assessments about the works of friends--that's what it means to be a pro. Take a look at my review of Ken Kessler's book on HFN: I state that I think that the narrative flow loses its self-confidence when he gets to the early 2000s.

The rest of your post is too tedious to deal with, but, I find it quite funny that you have totally missed the point. The church (NOT "my" church, as RBNG keeps insisting--it's not even my denomination) is planning to BUY a PIPE ORGAN. The will pay retail. A real pipe organ is an expensive undertaking.

I am volunteering my time as a consultant, and, in the normal course, will ask my friends to contribute--if they feel like it and if they can. There is not going to be an "hitting" on anybody. Most of the people I know are in fact so cultured and kind-hearted that I expect that most of them will respond by saying "What a great thing, I'd like to be a small part of it." Neither they nor I will think an angle is being worked. Because, you see, it's about beauty and truth and those kind of things.

I discussed the issue with John Atkinson. He saw my point that seeing as I know that certain manufacturers regularly contribute to musical charitable endeavors anyway, why should the fact that I contribute writing to Stereophile bar my letting them know about this project? But of course I also knew in advance that the bloody-minded would get up on their high horses. He asked that I raise the issue on Sterophile's forum. I thought that was fair, so I did. So, you see, many of the comments on this forum are based on false facts.

As far as who benefits, I'd like to think that everybody benefits. Especially my readers, who will get a behind the scenes view of putting together a world-class organ installation, and the people who will hear the organ for years to come. But then again I don't think that life is a zero-sum game. Along with my __friend__ Kavi Alexander, I believe we live in a universe of ever-expanding possibilities.

Cordially,

JM

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