Big Al

Wow, that looks like it's as tasty as Down Home Style. Is that an accurate comparison?

Seriously, if my rate of correct answers even jumps by .000001%, I'll be surprised!

Al, it makes sense but I have some questions. For instance, I didn't do a hard disc on mine, rather making it available through a real-time player and/or download. Would this also be an option? Oh yes, absolutely! In fact, I'm even encouraging that by offering to do the uploads myself for anyone who's interested in going that route but has neither the time nor the inclination to learn how to do it.

Yup, great idea! I mentioned that in the BFT Master List thread, but it certainly bears repeating here.

Dumb question of the day: I don't get it.... Its a reference to something Chris shared in his "Found" thread. Basically Driggs was a bad guy who claimed to own the rights to certain historic photos and would "earn" money by "licensing" them or else try to extort money for "unauthorized" use. Ahhh.... NOW I get it! NOW I laugh! Thanks, Dan. And Chris, of course!

In an effort to encourage more BFT participation, as well as streamline things, I propose two ideas: 1) All participants send their mailing addresses to me so a BFT address database can be kept. This way, all anyone has to do is simply post their desire to participate in the signup thread; once enough time has gone by, I can e-mail the mailing addresses to the BFT leader. 2) Since I'm participating in all the BFTs anyway, I will be happy to take on the responsibility of uploading all BFTs to a free download site. I've got a DSL connection here at the house, so it wouldn't take any time at all and not disrupt anything here. This way, any BFT leader who has neither tried the upload/download path nor had the inclination/time to learn, but wants to offer it as an option, can simply send the CD to me (which you were going to do anyway) and I can get it uploaded. Let me know y'alls thoughts on these. Glad that the BFT is off and running again!

Whoops! Didn't check new threads before responding to your PM from earlier. So, disregard my PM, except the part about helping out with distribution, file uploads, address collection, etc. And, of course, I'M IN!!!!

Dumb question of the day: I don't get it....

Finger-lickin' good indeed!

Right before the song began, Jamie Foxx realized that dressing in drag and playing opposite Arsenio Hall was in extremely poor taste.

Yeah, what Thom said! I may hate it and recoil in horror if it's as "out" as you claim, but I'll still dig the journey! That's the whole fun of the BFT's anyway: blindly rushing into the unknown, not knowing what you're gonna get hit with! Really, as long as you stay active within your own BFT discussion (i.e. don't start the thread and then abandon it completely) and then deliver answers when promised, a lot more people will likely respond. At its greatest, the BFT's can generate pages upon pages of high-spirited discussion between the participants and the leader. All we've been lacking lately is full-on commitment from BFT leaders (i.e. keep the discussion thread going), which unfortunately left Thom in the lurch because nobody posted their guesses!

That is probably the first defense of that era of Metallica I've ever read that is well thought-out, rational, and without ignorance of what came before that era. Usually, the defenders of that era of Metallica tend to respond with "U DONT NO WWHAT YR TALKING ABNOUT! METALLICA RULZ! U SUCK!" Of course, Agg, if you're going to use logic and courtesy when talking about that era, then you're no fun!

AMEN BROTHER!!!!

Speaking of the Jerry Jones Death Star (aka the new Cowboys Stadium), I took this picture the day after a wake for a friend of ours whose mother had passed away. Because of construction, traffic is being diverted all over the place, which leads to sign-placement such as this:

Oh yeah, I hear ya my man! It's even more frustrating to hear people around here talk like the Cowboys are still playoff contenders. As soon as Romo gets back, the Cowboys will be back on track for their predicted Super Bowl dominance! (Hey, Jerry sez it's gonna happen. If you can't trust Jerry.....)

Nothing will improve this team faster. However, if you were Jerry Jones, you would be so egomaniacal that you would fail to see that you are the cause of the team's problems. That, also unfortunately, really renders the rest of the list (legit as it is) moot, since all of the other points would be a way of you admitting failure, which is something Jerry Jones never does. This guy is such a sniveling whiner. Y'all should hear his media conference today. He sounds like a kid who just got beat up by the schoolyard bully. "W-w-w-well..... we ..... I thought we did some good things out there..... I mean..... we're not as bad as people say we are..... just wait until two weeks from now..... " He ain't, but hell he can't do any worse than the two clowns above him. As worthless as I think the Cow D is, I actually feel for those guys, especially yesterday, and I'm not really sure this is Stewart's fault. They were on the field for almost the whole game because the offense was..... offensive! These guys were worn out by the end of the 1st quarter and probably figured "Why the hell are we killing ourselves out here when that horrible offense isn't doing their part? Fuck them! Let the Giants score so we can get a few minuites off the field before we turn the ball over again." The players don't care; how can you coach that? We already had that with Parcells and Jimmy Johnson. Look how much Owner Jones likes those guys. Oh yeah. Amen to that. Yeah. I think Bollinger will work out. I mean, Romo's debut (oddly enough, also against the Giants) was a disaster as well. Remember the 3 INT's? And then get him a suit of body armor for when the offensive offensive line continues to let tacklers thru like water, miss blocks like they didn't exist, and continue to leave the big red target on the QB's arm. This team is such a mess, and the solution is so easy, and yet ice will survive in hell before that solution is attained. The truly sad thing about this team is that they could and SHOULD be so much better, but they've quit for the season. The Lions may be the only team without a win right now, but as far as I'm concerned, Dallas is far worse than the Lions.

Agree for the most part. "Mallrats" is still my favorite. Didn't think much of "Chasing Amy," but I really enjoyed "Dogma." J&SBSB was a waste of time and money for me, never saw "Jersey Girl" (never wanted to) and enjoyed the second "Clerks" infinitely more than the first one. Well, yeah. I mean, when I first saw the poster and the ads, I thought it WAS an Apatow flick. Still, I'm like you with regards to Smith's work, so chances are if you liked it, I'll probably like it as well. Thanks for the rec!

I e-mailed Concord a few weeks ago and they said it was on the board for next year. But Standard Coltrane will be available as an RVG in March, as will Miles Davis' Collectors Items. In other words, I have to agree with Chuck.

You're welcome ...... I do my best .............................. Did you know I'll be reach the 1000th Keep Swinging blog contribution within three weeks Keep Swinging blog Durium Dumb question of the day: who's the big guy?

While I don't disagree with that assessment, you gotta remember: Tex is an egomaniac in a class by himself. He wants the big-time. The Angels aren't big-time. The Sox & the Yanks are big-time. I'm sure money will play a huge factor, but ultimately it's gonna come down to who can afford to pay Tex what he wants. And what he wants is to play in the spotlight. And that spotlight continues to shine in Boston and New York. Plus, the Angels can't afford the big money like the Sox & Yanks can. Not complaining about that; it simply is what it is. For your sake, Dan and Thom, I hope the Yanks sign him. Name me one former Ranger who DIDN'T fizzle under the glare of the spotlight. Kenny Rogers, A-Fraud, Ruben Sierra, Kevin Brown, the list goes on....

The last time I put my friends on display, they asked for money. Won't make that mistake again.

I could see Tex going to either the Sox or the Yanks; just a matter of who wants him more and who's more willing to pay what Boras.... er, I mean Tex wants. Short-term it might be good; long-term? Well, look at the last Boras client who played for the Rangers and signed a long-term agreement with the Yanks..... A-FRAUD!!! Knock yerselves out, guys. We'll continue to be mired in our own patented brand of mediocrity here in Rangerland/Jonestown/Loserville, but we'll enjoy watching the mudslinging from the NE area.

BTW, great write-up on your blog, Durium!

Congratulations to the Phillies for winning it all, and a tip of the cap to the Rays for getting this far and playing their hearts out. I can't wait to see what the ratings are gonna be like when they come back. I'd like to think that the MLB front-office won't be scratching their heads wondering why hardly anybody watched this series. "Gee Bud, do you think it was because it was an east coast series targeted at a west coast audience that couldn't care less?" "Nahhh, it couldn't've been that. It's because the Yankees or Red Sox weren't playing. That's why nobody watched." Okay, that part may be true to the extent that there are more fans of either of those two teams than the number of fans of both the Phils and the Rays combined. Still, who had their head up their ass(es) when they scheduled this thing? Were they LOOKING for justifications to move the series to cable? "Bad ratings, guys. Let's move it to ESPN, or Turner, or...... oh, how about VERSUS???" End of rant.

I don't know that I'd agree that it's one of the best albums in jazz (Cafe Bohemia anyone?); however, it is certainly and completely worthy of all the hype and praise thrown its way over the years. Kind of a pity that on the celebrated title track, Art doesn't take a solo. I always imagine a solo along the lines of the one Art did on Grant Green's "It Ain't Necessarily So." Ah well, fantastic album, fantastic choice for an AotW. Gonna go spin it right now!