Big Al

Hey now! ... See Diamondbacks (entered MLB with Rays), and Marlins. No offense intended, it was more of a smackdown on my beloved Rangers than anything else. If the Rays win this year, you can add them to the list of teams younger than the Rangers who've won the World Series. Hell, at this point, if the Rays win ANY game in the post-season, you can add them to the list of teams younger than the Rangers who've WON a playoff game! Not to mention clutch-hitting, decent defense, ....... you know, the stuff the Rangers generally trade away so they can acquire either a "power-hitting" outfielder or a washed-up pitching "veteran".....

I am SO glad the Chargers won last night. I wanna see Favre lead the Jets to a 1-15 season, while the Pack goes 15-1. Unrealistic? Probably, but that's how low Favre is on the totem-pole for me.

According to my Father-in-Law, 1960. I just want to know why we got 9 sacks against Pittsburgh yesterday but could not manage to get ONE against Dallas. I mean the Eagles' D couldn't stop Dallas at all Monday night. And yesterday they kept to Steelers out of the end zone and held the NFL's leading rusher(coming into the game) to 20 freakin' yards. What happened in those 6 days between the Dallas and Pittsburgh games? Yeah, but even I will admit that last Monday's game was THE worst-called game I've ever witnessed. There were so many missed calls, I was starting to think I'd switched on a Pee-Wee football game instead, or at the very least the refs were on Jerry Jones payroll. Not complaining, mind you ; just acknowledging the facts.

With last night's loss, the Rangers are guaranteed yet another below-.500 season. On the plus side, it's been a long time since they were even this close to .500. On the realistic side, Tampa Bay is going to the playoffs and the Rangers aren't. That's like watching a child prodigy graduate high school at the age of 11, while you've been a career senior for over 30 years.

When is it ever good to be an Eagles fan?

And I missed it. Did he boink her? No, thank God. The show would've only gone downhill after that.

Damn, I thought this was about the 2nd-season premiere tonight.

I have nothing to contribute but fascination.

CUBS CLINCH! CUBS CLINCH! HOLY COW!!!!! Oh yeah, and the Rangers got swept by the Angels. {{{{sigh}}}}

Don't you mean "hallowed" ground? Or were you referring to the new stadium?

Yeah, this is a heckuva deal! Got my copy this week! Certainly someone at Newbury has noticed the same guy coming in every week to buy this set.

Was going to get the Boogaloo disc, but then I noticed that it's already part of the Legends of Acid Jazz series, which is still in print and, IIRC, sounds pretty good already (that and the fact that it's couple with another album onto one disc makes this the more logical choice for me). Same for the Burrell. I see it's still in print as an OJC. But, like Lon, I've been impressed with the Prestige RVGs I've heard so far, so I don't see any reason NOT to wait for this RVG.

Well, now I know where Weird Al got the lyrics for his song. And how did this calendar find out about my relationship with Della & Ed Stella?

I still want to see "Burn After Reading." Of the Coen brothers' films I've seen: I remember enjoying "Raising Arizona," but it's been so long since I've seen it I couldn't tell you if I'd still enjoy it. "Lebowski" was a big bore. Could never understand all the fuss about it. In fact, I never made it through the whole picture. Truly enjoyed "O Brother Where Art Thou," and still do. "I'm the damn paderfamilia!!!" Same goes for "Fargo," although I'm still not sure why McDormand got an Oscar. It was a good performance, to be sure; but was the well that dry that year for other nominees?

Woke up this morning and started the day with this CD, track 1. My son walked into the kitchen bobbin' his head and movin' & groovin' to the music. So HE digs the CD too!

Oh yeah, and he was making so much money (according to him) he was just swimming in it. Sad thing is, he did so much better than the human investors.

Yeah, those assholes gave television dolphins a bad name... I saw one of those dolphins trying to sell real estate on the local cable access channel. Talk about living up to your name....

Does your box include the Bird and Diz studio session with Monk? I grew up with that one and have never got over it! I'm pretty sure it does. I also dig that session, not the least of the reasons being the presence of Buddy Rich. I know, I know, he supposedly is not a good fit on that session. I disagree; IMOSHO, he actually supercharges the proceedings.

You're catching on.

Then you're in for a treat. The song that follows Danco is my personal all-around favorite from this disc, and I think you'll really dig Jim's Rhodes improv which closes the session. OH yes!!! I have gotten to that one a few times and it is wonderful. Forgot to mention that in my initial review, but I love that trio of songs. It's almost like a suite (sweet!) unto itself. Heading for bed, gonna let "Traces" be my soundtrack into dreamland tonight.....

I have to admit I haven't gotten to the last four songs yet because I keep playing "Traces" and "Danco de Alma" over and over. Jim, your all-around keyboard (B3, synth, etc*) playing on these two tracks in particular is so beautiful it just creates a wonderfully melancholy atmosphere. As far as effect goes, I'd put it right up there with Herbie Hancock's "Dolphin Dance." It really is that good!!! Joe, your acoustic guitar solo would make Jobim and Gilberto proud. Just beautiful. And Randy, your drumming--and that sounds like too insensitive a word to describe what you're doing back there. Just carrying the beat, caressing it, allowing the rest of the music to float around while you anchor the rhythm...... Dammit, I hate it when I get all mushy-gushy like this, but it's been a while since music affected me like this. A fantastic job, guys! *No, I don't know how to play an etc. I might not even recognize one if I did.

Just thought I should let y'all know I sold the car this weekend. Unfortunately, I had to KEEP the Chicago cassette in order to sell it.

Do the Rangers hold the lead in this, or does another team have a worse run differential than the Rangers? I'm being serious. KC is at -115 and Seattle is at -129. San Fran, San Diego, Pittsburgh and Washington are over -100 in the NL. That's nice to know..... I think..... GO CUBS!!!!

Or you could blame that "Rich Dad" guy. In his first book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" he proudly explains how he would "flip" houses to build his wealth. IIRC, he was unconcerned about who owned the house he'd sold, as long as he got his funding, that was all he was concerned with. That attitude is running epidemic in the real estate market right now.

Actually, if you want to blame ANYONE in this whole fiasco, blame the goddamned so-called "flippers." You know: investors who buy a house dirt-cheap, fix it up a little, and then sell it at a profit back to a realtor, who sees the opportunity for more commission and sells the house to someone with no/horrible credit history at a low-interest rate mortgage, who then defaults on the mortgage. The house next to us is a case in point. In this case, the owners were involved in a nasty divorce. They both moved out, the husband was trying to sell it and finally sold out to an investment firm who thought they would have an easy sell. Well, the house is now listed at $3,000 below market value. Additionally, I have to call the realtor to call the owners to get them to mow the lawn, which looks like a jungle. These investment assholes got us into this mess, and now my neighborhood is having to suffer.