kenny weir

Nope. Not getting nervous yet. And the Kenton/Holman/Russo box is sounding just fine.

Looking at that stuff makes me think that as an interior decorator, Garcia was a wonderful guitarist and singer.

Free For All: I have pondered the lack of American-style BBQ in Australia myself. *There are probably millions of BBQs in Australia, but by that we mean the contraption itself. For many decades the food cooked on the barbie was poorly made sausages, lamb chops and maybe some chicken or steak. No smoking, no sauces (except ketchup after cooking), lousy smashed-lettuce salad and no sides such as baked beans etc. The meat was cooked until black - I'm only exagerating a little. In recent years, there has been a semblance of sophistication coming through, but it is mostly Asian or Middle Eastern-inpired. *If one ever sees ribs on a restaurant menu - outside of Chinese, where ribs are a whole nutha ball game - the result is invariably lousy. I have been unable to work out if this is the result of different butchering methods or different breeding practices for cattle/hogs. *I sure wish, based on only limited eating in Texas and New Orleans (great food but piss poor BBQ) that somebody started doing some real BBQ here. But that apart, Australia - or at least its cities - seems to be going its own merry way, drawing on marvellous produce and Italian/Greek/Thai/Chinese/Vietnamese/Malaysian/Indonesian/Middle Eastern/Eastern European influences and more. No BBQ here, but foodie heaven nevertheless

Yes, for someone without much football history, comparably speaking, it's interesting hearing these sorts of claims/outbursts - including Brad's earlier on about Uruguay. I envy such Grand Pasts, but I have been an attentive fan of World Cups for a couple of decades now, so know full well that all that only goes so far. There are ALWAYS fallen heroes. Just as there are ALWAYS giants who seem to perform miracles with no precedent. As someone from non-traditional football countries, I surely am without the sort of passion that others have in abundance. OTOH, my hopes are modest and my enjoyment of the feats of others - particularly the underdogs - absolutely boundless!

I strongly suspect PLM is unaware of how strong and emotive the word "despicable" is!

Of course, we've still got everything to prove. And who doesn't see their team as bigger than they actually are? (Apart, from what I've been reading here, the French). But why use the word despicable? The World Cup is a joyous event. Most of us contributing to this thread seem to be trying to reflect that. Why be such a black heart about it? "Our dear American/Australian soccer's fans ...." My, you are a partronising twerp, aren't we? And you're the one calling someone else out as being aggressive?

Plenty of Fillmore sets on ebay, and - good news for those who missed out - the prices seem to be dropping through competition.

Yeah, well obviously us foreigners were assigned our appropriate place at the bottom of the mailing order list.

I agree. It's just guesswork at this stage. although that seems to be the main error.

"Caution (Do Not Step on Tracks)" (6/68), "He Was A Friend of Mine" > "China Cat Sunflower" > "New Potato Caboose" (all 6/8/69), "China Cat Sunflower" > "I Know You Rider" > "High Time" (all from 2/7/70). ← Hunnnalubbagloootooo - tasty!

Mine's just been shipped. What's on the bonus disc?

Here's a possible seeding scenario as printed in Melbourne's Herald Sun this morning: Tier 1: Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy, Portugal, Czech Republic. Tier 2: England, Spain, Poland, Paraguay, Sweden, Croatia, Mexico, US. Tier 3: Ecuador, s Korea, Japan, Switzerland, Serbia/Mont., Ukraine, Tunisia, Costa Rica. Tier 4: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Angola, Togo, Trinidad/Tabasco (hot stuff). A few questionable aspects in there, but ... On that basis, I would fancy Australia's chances against a couple of the top teams, at least for a draw or two. I would be confident/hopeful when playing most of the tier 2 sides. I would strongly back the Aussies against all the tier 3 teams. And - a real plus - being in the bottom tier automatically means missing all the scary unknown quantities of the African sides. They're going to be somebody's nightmare - but not ours.

Thansk for the heads up. I have the Morgan/Celestin disc, so I was at least a little aware of this label, but not really hip to the depth and excellence of their releases. Anyway, the Jack Purvis and Adrian Rollini are on their way, ordered from Worlds Records (a first for me). And, BTW, they've included the Gift From The President CD as well.

Thanks, Brad. The reaction here is unbelieveable. The current boss of Australian Rules footy said several years words to the effect that "every time the Socceroos fail to make the World Cup, we crack open the champagne". Eat your words, chump. And as with the new African countries, having Australia at the party can only help cement even more football's place as the paramount sporting esperanto. It's great. All the other team sports at which Australia excels - league, union, cricket - are by-products of a long-gone colonial era and played very well by just a few countries. And cricket seems to suffering greatly from such a small gene pool. And, yes, it was last chance time for a few of our guys, though not necessarily Kewell.

scottb: I realise you probably didn't address your last post to me, but ... I consider Australia will be rightly be considered underdog against all but a handful of sides. But like you, I think they will rightly like their chances against a whole bunch more. The World Cup always has unexpected wrinkles.

Ha ha - too freaking bad if they're not, hey?

Always USED to be a problem. Not any more. It's not just Hiddinck, but a new national league and management from top to bottom. Yes, Australia will rightly be considered a minnow. But there are always surprises. For myself, and plenty of others around Australia, it's just great to feel like I've got a stake in the World Cup that goes beyond mere spectator, and in the A-League with Melbourne Victory, too. I'll remain a union, league and "other" fan, but football is where it's at. Brad: I AM a different kind of fan from you. This is a time for rejoicing as the last few stragglers make it through and everyone one looks forward - together - to next year. Sneering and sour grapes are not part of my world. I, too, will be rooting for Spain. Other favourites will include: US, S Korea, Japan, all the Africans, Netherlands. From what I've gathered from this morning's Australian papers: Seedings system decided on December 3, draw made on December 9. As there quite a few teams playing in the cup for the first time, and the process is being kept secret, FIFA is on a hiding to nothing. One story looking at this subject also tipped scorn on the No.7 ranking for US. Comments?

OK, I've been reading up on this label and listening to a lot of samples. Great stuff - just where my head is at. I will be orering 2-3 sets in the nexy couple of days. Any other hot tips?

Chris: I'm not sure that would make that much difference. Let's face it - for each the strugglers, there is going at least of the super teams per group. It's the other two the likes of Australia will be hoping to beat. Is there always a group of death? How are the group lineups decided? Anyone?

Red, as Kiwi living Australia, I reckon that's very funny and pretty cool, too. There's some truth in what you say, but I still think it was a cracker of a final. Off on a tangent: How things have changed. The Wallabies have lost seven in a row and Fiji almost beat the six nations champs, Wales. Blimey. And there's even a possibility of GB/NZ final in the tri-nations rugby league! On the brutality thing: Aussies admire good, hard play as much as anybody. But it's a fine line. And ironically in the end, the graceless gamesmanship of Uruguay, not just on the field, probably tipped the balance Australia's way in a funny sort of way.

And Brad, you don't know me. Had Uruguay won, it's true - I wouldn't be a happy camper. But I would congratulate the winning team, as the whole country did for England when they beat us in a magnificent final of the rugby World Cup. Uruguay coach Jorge Fossati: "I'm proud of my boys and I congratulate the Australian team. I wish them a good and successful campaign in Germany." That's the spirit, mate!

Yes.

Well you're most likely right in that, but it takes all kinds to make up the World Cup. Why have qualifying at all? Let's just make football's self-acclaimed royal nations permanent finalists. And a freaking bore that would be - no Japan, no South Korea, no Cameroon. No me. And Hiddink got us there with just four months with a demorlaised team that had been absolutely slaughtered at the Confederations Cup. He's got another seven months now. The attitude of some you footy bluebloods bemuses me. Go the underdogs! No matter where they're from. And that includes, for me, the US. Very much so. Surely the over-acheiving underdog is vital to the wellbeing of the game. Don't cha like the romance of it all?

Whatever. The simple truth is that being former two-time winners is what did them in. They had surreal expectations based only on a glorious past. They believed they belonged in the finals regardless of relative merits of the teams involved, especially when it came to playing dear old Australia, not a real football nation and all that. Well they were sticthed up. The two teams were very close, but in the end even a missed penalty could not deny the Aussies. Are you aware of the farcical BS that went on with the starting time for the Montevideo match? But even that blatant cheating couldn't help them. And in the end it was a distraction for them Excuse me while I gloat.

I guess it depends on your perspective. After all the dour, arrogant gamesmanship and - yes - cheating from Uruguay, it's very cool with me some luck went Australia's way for the first time in about 30 years. Brad, you may have lived there once, but why is it such a tragedy? They were beaten fair and square. My reaction: YYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! It was the most nerve-wracking night of my life. There was a time not so long ago when just getting there would have been enough for Australia. Those days are gone. We won't win the cup. But progressing to the round of 16 or beyond, with good preparation and a super coach, actually seems more realistic than the nightmare of playing the fifth-placed South American country when thoroughly under-done. Bring it on!