Dave James

All cat and dog names require at least two syllables. That's non-negotiable.

I'm with Moose. The cat will properly introduce itself to you after she settles in for a bit. You'll just start calling her by a name that becomes obvious after you've been around her for a little while. Agreed. I've had a fair number of dogs and cats over the years, and other than two purebred Pugs who came already attached to their registered AKC names and Ralphie, which was already perfect, I've always lived with the animals for awhile before I gave them names. I also have a book of pet names that's been helpful. That's how we decided on Cookie for our English Mastiff. We'd had her for about three weeks when I happened to be looking through the book and it just jumped out at me.

You might find something of interest here. Enter "vinyl" in the search box and Blue Note in the "GO" box. http://www.elusivedisc.com/searchprods.asp

The cat we got a few months ago has yellow eyes. We named him El Andy after the character in the Showtime series Weeds, but if I had to do it over again, I'd name him Farcas. He has yellow eyes, for cryin' out loud. One of our dogs is named Ralphie, so it would have meshed well with the Christmas Story motif. BTW, good luck getting your wife to go along, even if you like the idea.

Concierto De Aranjuez, the title track from Jim Hall's C.T.I. album Concierto. Featured on this track are Paul Desmond, Chet Baker and Roland Hanna. It may get as good as this but it doesn't get any better.

I know. In today's dollars, we're in the neighborhood of $12,000. Frankly, I'm not sure how we could afford this. I mean, we were solidly in the middle class, but by no means well-to-do. I know how much my Dad was making at the time, and this would have represented a substantial commitment. I guess it's an indication of how much he was into music. I'll bet my folks had some interesting conversations about this before they pulled the trigger. I'm sure it was not real high on my Mom's dance card. I'll tell you one thing, getting this equipment up to speed hasn't been cheap. I had the three electronic components and the Thorens cleaned and pressed by a local guy. That ran around $300. Then it was new interconnects for another $250. But, that's not all. I still need to have the speakers checked out and the crossovers upgraded. After that, it's loudspeaker cabling. I figure by the time this is all said and done, I'l be into this for around a grand. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I'd forgotten what good sound sounds like. If I knew how, I'd upload some pictures from my BlackBerry. Unfortunately, that's well outside my technical wheelhouse.

Trust me. After you'd listened to it, your only thought would be what the hell was I thinking.

Agreed 100%. Too many variables. Listen to your own ears. Let them decide.

I am growing increasingly concerned that the Yankees made a strategic mistake in trading Austin Jackson and not resigning Johnny Damon. The two new Tigers were a combined 6 of 8 in today's game and Jackson has been knocking the cover off the ball all Spring. I know it's early and things change, but I'm still worried.

If you'll lower the percentage to 60/40, I'm in. I have no plans to see Jarrett in concert, but I would like to listen to him without "accompaniment." Honestly, I don't think you can separate these two varieties of idiosyncratic behavior. They're both characterized by an "accept me the way I am or fuck off" mentality. IMO, selfishness of the highest order.

What Jarrett seems unable to realize is that respect is a two way street. You give it runs one way and you earn runs the other. If he doesn't figure this out, or get help, or whatever, he's going to find his concerts more and more sparsely attended, especially considering the prices he's charging for the privilege of seeing him. At some point, hopefully in the not too distant future, either he or his handlers will find a way to bring his behavior under control.

If the making of inappropriate and ill-timed noises flips him out, wouldn't the person most likely to make Jarrett crazy be Jarrett himself?

A Thorens Q Up Tone Arm Lift system just sold for $136.00 on eBay. I used to have one of these. They're just two interlocking pieces of plastic with a simple trip mechanism. I still can't believe someone isn't making these things.

My first thought was that I was watching Jim Carrey on an old episode of In Living Color.

I'm a fan of comfort, but not of complacency. It's a fine line to walk sometimes, but... That's spot on. The line between bad and acceptable taste is a very thin one. Myself, I have to draw that line at Beyonce's bouncing butt. IMO, watching her and her gal pals shake their collective moneymakers is just too distracting (in a negative way) from everything else that's going on.

I'd give my left nut to have Tiger and Jack go toe to toe, both their primes, using today's equipment. That's the only way the "who's best" argument can ever be resolved. I'd even throw Hogan or Bobby Jones into that mix. If you've ever seen either of their swings, you know why.

Here it is. Not bad. I'm intrigued by this mash-up stuff.

Now that's what I call cheesy. Besides, I put the calipers on the album cover and Ed's melon is 1.45X larger than the gal who shares the picture. The absolute limit I've set for myself to avoid frightening my friends is 1.30. I will not be getting this album,

Chewy, Did you notice the offer they have on the table where you can sign up and have new XRCD releases sent to you automatically, two at a time, as they are released. That's pretty tempting, at least to me.

Chewy, Check out this website for more information on Blue Note XRCD's: My link

For anybody who doesn't... Youtube to the rescue I may have said this before, but this clip shows you how really quick Carson was. Ed Ames' first reaction is to remove the tomahawk from the crotch of the outlined figure as quickly as possible. But, when Carson sees him start to move towards it, he practically grabs him and spins him around to keep him from doing something that would have trashed the comedic potential of what arguably winds up being THE signature moment in the entire history of The Tonight Show.

The last in the Davy Crockett series was called "The Riverboat Race". That one was my favorite. Davy raced pole barges against Big Mike Fink, King of the River. There's a scene in that one where he does some kind of Annie Oakley shooting by bouncing a bullet off a bunch of pots and pans. I've always remembered that. The interesting thing is that this episode was aired after Davy got killed at the Alamo. Now there's a man with staying power.

Some of us might consider that a blessing.

The man who singlehandedly popularized coon skin clothing passed away today at age 85. Boy do I remember those Davy Crockett Disney shows. For a kid growing up back in the '50's, it didn't get any better than that. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/arts/television/19parker.html?hpw

Chewy, It's WELCH...like the grape juice. I agree. His songs, Hypotized, Church, Sentimental Lady and Bermuda Triangle are first rate. Fleetwood Mac has always been blessed with excellent guitar players. Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, Danny Kirwin, Welch and Lindsay Buckingham. In its own way, not unlike The Yardbirds.