BERIGAN

Well, Mosaic has never run with my brilliant idea....monthly payments...even if you had to pay the full amount before you could have the set....don't know if I will ever be able to pull the trigger on the $160 Mildred Bailey set(before shipping cost) but, if I could put 30-40 bucks a month in a "special" mosiac account, I'd buy a lot of sets I wouldn't be able to justify otherwise.(I know, I could just put the money away and save up for a set, but I'd spend it before I'd have enough)

Now, when they go to college, and their team wins the big game, they can torch cars, dumpsters, whathaveyou and nothing will happen to them, but man, throw water filled ballons....you are gonna pay a price.... ight may keep students from graduation BURLINGTON, Wis., June 11 (UPI) -- Eighty seniors at a Wisconsin high school may be barred from graduation because of a water balloon fight. Students at Burlington High School describe the fight as the traditional senior prank and say it was less damaging or dangerous than some past ones. But school officials say that some students were afraid to leave the building while water balloons were flying in the parking lot. "There are student council members and National Honor Society members -- lots of us who have worked really hard, and they're worried they're not going to get to cross the stage just because of a silly water balloon fight," co-valedictorian Zeb Breuckman told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Breuckman admitted taking part in the fight. School officials planned to meet with seniors and parents Saturday morning to discuss the fight and potential penalties. http://interestalert.com/brand/siteia.shtm...National%20News

After 2,000 Years, a Seed From Ancient Judea Sprouts By STEVEN ERLANGER Published: June 12, 2005 JERUSALEM, June 11 - Israeli doctors and scientists have succeeded in germinating a date seed nearly 2,000 years old. The seed, nicknamed Methuselah, was taken from an excavation at Masada, the cliff fortress where, in A.D. 73, 960 Jewish zealots died by their own hand, rather than surrender to a Roman assault. The point is to find out what was so exceptional about the original date palm of Judea, much praised in the Bible and the Koran for its shade, food, beauty and medicinal qualities, but long ago destroyed by the crusaders. At eight weeks, the persistent seed nicknamed Methuselah was still going strong. Most ancient seeds produce plants that soon die. Enlarge This Image Andrew Medichini/Associated Press A hardy palm tree seed from ancient Judea, found at the Masada excavation site, above, is thriving, so far. "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree," says Psalm 92. "They shall still bring forth fruit in old age. They shall be fat and flourishing." Well, we'll see. Dr. Sarah Sallon, who runs a project on medicinal plants of the Middle East, notes that the date palm in ancient times symbolized the tree of life. But Dr. Elaine Solowey, who germinated the seed and is growing it in quarantine, says plants grown from ancient seeds "usually keel over and die soon," having used most of their nutrients in remaining alive. The plant is now 11.8 inches tall and has produced seven leaves, one of which was removed for DNA testing. Radiocarbon dating in Switzerland on a snip of the seed showed it to be 1,990 years old, plus or minus 50 years. So the date seed dates from 35 B.C. to A.D. 65, just before the famed Roman siege. Three date seeds were taken from Level 34 of the Masada dig. They were found in a storeroom, and are presumably from dates eaten by the defenders, Dr. Sallon says. Mordechai Kislef, director of botanical archeology at Bar-Ilan University, had some date seeds from Ehud Netzer, who excavated Masada in the 1970's. "They were sitting in a drawer, and when I asked for one, he said, 'You're mad,' but finally gave me three," Dr. Sallon said. "Then I gave them to Elaine, who's an expert on arid agriculture and dates." Dr. Solowey said: "Well, I didn't have much hope that any would come up, but you know how Sarah is." Dr. Sallon, who is a pediatric gastroenterologist trained at University College, London, came to Israel 20 years ago. She is the director of the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center at Hadassah Medical Organization, which she set up 10 years ago to study natural products and therapies, from Tibetan and Chinese medicine to the indigenous medicinal plants of the Middle East. The idea is to preserve these plants and their oral histories in a modernizing region, but also to domesticate them, evaluate them scientifically and then try to integrate them into conventional medicine. Dr. Solowey, who teaches agriculture and sustainable farming at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, based at Kibbutz Ketura in the southern Negev, works on finding new crops for arid and saline areas like Jordan, Gaza and Morocco. She also works with Dr. Sallon to domesticate indigenous plants that appear to have medicinal uses. Dr. Solowey grew up in the San Joaquin Valley in California and studied horticulture, then turned away from commercial agriculture in disgust, coming here in 1971. "I don't come to organic agriculture from the hippie side, but as a frustrated agricultural scientist," she said. "We've bred for yield and taste, but not hardiness, so we have a lot of plants as hardy as French poodles, so we have to spray to protect them, and then we pay the price," she said. "There isn't a cubic centimeter of water in the San Joaquin Valley that isn't polluted with something." She planted the date seeds at the end of January after trying to draw them out of their deep dormancy. She first soaked the seeds in hot water to soften the coat, then in an acid rich in hormones, then in an enzymatic fertilizer made of seaweed and other nutrients. "I've done other recalcitrant seeds," she said. "It wasn't a project with a high priority. I had no idea if the food in the seed was still good, but I put them in new pots in new potting soil and plugged them into drip irrigation and kind of forgot about them." About six weeks later, she said, "I saw the earth cracked in a pot and much to my astonishment, one of these came up." The first two leaves looked odd, she said, very flat and pale. "But the third looked like a date leaf with lines, and every one since has looked more and more normal - like it had a hard time getting out of the seed." Lotus seeds of about 1,200 years of age have been sprouted in China, and after the Nazis bombed London's Natural History Museum in World War II and a lot of water was used to put out the fire, seeds of 500 years of age also germinated. "But no one had done it from 2,000 years old," Dr. Sallon said. In the time of Pliny, forests of date palms covered the area from Lake Galilee to the Dead Sea and made Jericho famous; a date palm features on ancient coinage, as it does on the current Israeli 10-shekel coin. The date palm symbolized ancient Israel; the honey of "the land of milk and honey" came from the date. It is praised as a tonic to increase longevity, as a laxative, as a cure for infections and as an aphrodisiac, Dr. Sallon said. But the dates of Judea were destroyed before the Middle Ages, and what dates Israel grows now were imported in the 1950's and 60's from California and originated elsewhere in the Middle East. The Prophet Muhammad considered the date of great importance for medicine, food, construction and income, and it is described in the Koran as a "symbol of goodness" associated with heaven. Dates need to grow 30 years to reach maturity and can live as long as 200 years. But it is the female date that is considered holy, and that bears fruit. "Men are rather superfluous in the date industry," Dr. Sallon said. "O.K, I have a date plant," Dr. Solowey said. "If it lives, it will be years before we eat any dates. And that's if it's female. There's a 50-50 chance. And if it's a male, it will just be a curiosity." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/12/internat...ast/12palm.html

Great story!!!!!!!!!!!

Up, cuz I didn't know where else to put Steven Wright....found these 2 longer jokes of his I remember fondly, that I don't think were posted on this board..... I got into an elevator at work and this man followed in after me. I pushed '1' and he just stood there...I said, "Hi, where you going?" He said, "Phoenix." So, I pushed 'Phoenix'. A few seconds later, the doors opened, two tumbleweeds blew in...we were in downtown Phoenix. I looked at him and said, "You know, you're the kind of guy I want to hang around with." We got into his car and drove out to his shack in the desert. Then the phone rang. He said, "You get it." I picked it up and said, "Hello?"...The other side said, "Is this Steven Wright?" I said, "Yes..." The guy said, "Hi, I'm Mr. Jones, the student loan director from your bank...It seems you have missed your last 17 payments, and the university you attended said that they received none of the $17,000 we loaned you. We would just like to know what happened to the money." I said, "Mr. Jones, I'll give it to you straight. I gave all of the money to my friend Slick, and with it he built a nuclear weapon...and I would appreciate it if you never called me again." One day I got on the usual bus, and when I stepped in, I saw the most gorgeous blond Chinese girl...I sat beside her. I said, "Hi," and she said, "Hi," and then I said, "Nice day, isn't it?," and she said, "I saw my analyst today and he says I have a problem." So I asked, "What's the problem?" She replied, "I can't tell you. I don't even know you..." I said, "Well sometimes it's good to tell your problems to a perfect stranger on a bus." So she said, "Well, my analyst said I'm a nymphomaniac and I only like Jewish cowboys...by the way, my name is Dennis." I said, "Hello, Dennis. My name is Bucky Goldstein..."

Not a good day yesterday..... Chest CT Scan for her lungs showed enlarged lymph nodes in near her lungs, liver, and groin area. Doesn't look too good right now...what is strange is that being on 3 antibiotics at the same time, and having several different types of treatments to help her breath better, her cough was getting much better.... and with a physical therapist working her out, she was gaining some strength in her limbs that was not there a week ago....so this was quite a blow today....we are still hopeful, Mom has not given up, but have to be somewhat realistic. The Oncologist is sympathetic, but won't/can't offer any treatment options now(And are wondering why he was only having a CT scan from the armpits up, and why nothing showed up in late January.) We have been giving her some Noni juice most days(When we can remember to bring some of it, it needs to be refrigerated) and was going to wait to give her something I ordered online called Paw Paw til she came home, but time is of the essence right now...she even had some lumps show up in her neck in the last few days, ...we are talking about stage IV Cancer right now, so everyone's prayers and Alternative Meds will have to do the job for us..... Conrad.

Reading further down the page, some interesting info on Marion Harris, there must be hundreds of fans of her work on this here board....

Never know what you will dig up agoogling.....I found this site with many a name you might recognize.....seems Chuck knew something! 7 discs! As a wise man once said, Dyn-o-mite! Date: Fri, 20 May 2005 10:42:07 -0500 (CDT) From: <richlsr@verizon.net> Subject: Re: [78-l] RE: Chu Berry >From: Scott Wenzel <scott@mosaicrecords.com> >Date: Thu May 19 16:33:34 CDT 2005 >To: 78-L@78online.com >Subject: [78-l] RE: Chu Berry >Hello all - Early next year, I'll be releasing a 7 disc Chu Berry set on >Mosaic which will focus on his Sony/BMG owned recordings. Does anyone >have -1 of "Floogie Walk" with Cab's band? Take 2 is the common take and >appeared on both Vocalion and OKeh 4807. By the way, Sony/BMG does not have >a metal part on take 1. > >Also, if anyone has any alternate takes of Chu, I'd be interested in hearing >from you off-line at scott@mosaicrecords.com. > >Thanks in advance! >Scott Wenzel http://www.78online.com/forum/read.php?f=3&i=2718&t=2718

She clearly is a fan of Billie's, I just imagine after so many questions(the same questions) for so many years, she just doesn't want to be thought of as only an imitator of hers...so probably just keeps her mouth shut nowadays... saw this a month or so ago when I was checking out what was on the web on her.... Thoughts on Billie Holiday's 90th Birthday April 6, 2005 I’m sure if I had the chance to meet her now she would tell me how much work I have to do. …or,“Get another gig!” But it is impossible to render Billie any other way than she would have wanted. As much as we try to find Billie in ourselves, in our lives, we do. She was an individualist who sang for us all. She is most personal. There is no other Billie Holiday… To listen to Billie’s life- is to listen to freedom: a pioneering voice among African Americans, musicians, and underdogs in our hifalutin society. …you can hear her in the tough man crying, the alley cat whining, the toddler baby shreiking, the peeping child peeking, the bell-chimer ticking, the evening barker tricking, the way the washer-woman rinses out shame, nature lazes into her pain, waning on the horizon… To all those celebrating this holiday-- Happy 90th Birthday Billie Holiday We’re still Getting Some Fun Out of Life- ~madeleine peyroux http://www.madeleinepeyroux.org/billieholiday.asp

missed that! I could watch TCM, but they don't really show up in the printed tv guides or in newspapers, so... ← Check out www.turnerclassicmovies.com (Or for the monthly schedule, go to http://www.turnerclassicmovies.com/Schedul...2005|0|,00.html...no, they don't mention what shorts will be on, but if you look for 95 minute movies in 2 hour blocks, you know some sort of shorts will be dug up, and like Jim mentioned, late at night is a good time to find them...thru the years, I have seen Bunny Berigan and Jimmy Dorsey in the same short with the Fred Rich band (About the happiest moment of my life was when I was able to record it from the begining! ) Artie Shaw in an early 30's short playing Alto, Claude Hopkins, Lunceford, and others I can't recall right now...just a bitch you don't know when they will be on, and weeks will go by it seems without any music related shorts.....

Since there are a fair number of Willie Smith fans, if you don't have 'em yet, look out for two out of print cds, Snooty Fruity, an 18 track cd from Columbia(Scan below) and A Viper's Nest cd called Willie Smith and the Harry James all Stars (without Harry!) 2 Lamplighter's Jazz sessions from 1945(Don't know anything about Lamplighter broadcasts, are there many other releases out there???) The audio is quite nice for live recordings (Doug Pomeroy had a hand in it, so no wonder!) Just playing it now, makes me wonder why I haven't played it in a long time, sweet!!! Emmett Berry, who I am not familiar with,(Liner notes say he played with Fletcher Henderson) plays trumpet. EDIT...well, I used to be able to post attachments, but can't seem to make photo small enough....sorry!

Man, could have sworn we talked about him a year or so ago with more fans than I expected, but damn, can't find it, so must have been an aside in a thread about someone/thing else! .... EVERYONE does it, but I think that is the problem, Lunceford is forever compared to the big 2,(Sort of like anytime Roy Eldridge name is mentioned, you have to hear Louis and Dizzy's in the same sentence) and it really isn't fair. A quick check at Allmusic, even Scott Yanow claims they were a 2nd tier band! Cab Calloway, or Fletcher Henderson don't seem to suffer the same fate, not that many talk about Calloway's underrated band anyway. I need to get more Lunceford, but my favorite songs include Hittin' the bottle, the Ellington covers, For Dancer's Only and the very best song of them all IMHO, Organ Grinder's Swing! Their version just oozes sex To my layperson's ears, they have a nice, loose sound. They may have rehearsed a lot, but they just sound like a band having a good time. Sy Oliver's arrangements no doubt have a lot to do with that....

I bet I was the only one hoping it was a thread about the late great Smokey Yunick!

Thanks everyone, EVERYONE, for the words of sympathy, and encouragement! (Someday, the lefties on this board will meet me in person, and we will all be pleasantly surprised by how much we have in common! ) It really has been as if we have all been living a nightmare of late, I wouldn't wish it on anyone.... A quick update...Mom has been in the hospital since Thursday. Mom's Oncologist got an Internist friend of his to admit Mom again(We had to bring Mom by ambulance to her office, and she checked her out in the ambulance!) The Oncologist and she both seem to think Mom is suffering from a combination of all her various ailments. In fact, the Oncologist was basically saying since she was too weak for Chemo if the Cancer has spread, to just try to make her comfortable and call Hospice,(We had already talked to them a few weeks ago when she was in the hospital the 2nd time,(This is the 3rd time since March) we had been told they deal with non-terminal folks as well, but you can't call 911, do anything to prolong life etc, if you go with them, so we weren't going to go that route right now) had to convince him we needed to see if the infection might be her biggest problem right now... We were going to try to get Mom in a rehabilitation place for awhile if she could get stronger again, she wasn't looking forward to that, she wants to be home with her boys, and cats...but the Internist was going straight for Nursing home, saying she can't walk, so no point for the rehab place. Fortunately, I was there at 6 am to argue for Mom that she wants to see if she can get stronger first, before going into a nursing home for the rest of her life.... Hoping not to jinx her, Mom has gotten a bit stronger, in fact, the night before going into the hospital she showed more arm strength. (Did I say this would be short?) Long story short, even though we have our reservations about the new Doctor, she is thorough, and finally a Pulmonary doc came to look at Mom, and had many ideas, suggestions....did a better job of giving Mom some hope. She is on 3 different antibiotics right now!!! Some different breathing apparatuses than she has tried before, and her cough has gotten much better, thank God! Having a physical therapist come in every day, and Dad or me help her again at night has made a true difference. Mom now sees that after becoming completely helpless that she has to push herself, even if her arthritis, herniated discs are acting up, she has no choice...but feeling better, breathing better(Last Thursday, any movement brought her oxygen level into the low 80's, not good!) does make it easier to exercise(Still just in bed , but kicking from the side of the bed to the hand of the therapist is a big step for her!) Still too early to get too excited, but ANY progress makes all of us feel much better, there simply had been nothing going right till late. This time they seem to realize she is really sick, and to do more than monitor her blood sugar and blood pressure, they are finally attacking the fluid issues, even if the Oncologist and Internist act like you can't really do much about it at this stage, Mom had put on about 20 pounds of fluid in the last few weeks, and taking just that much off makes it easier to move! Mom has been depressed of late, but she is as strong as anyone inside...most of us,(Myself very much included) would find it impossible to put up with the daily level of pain, and frustration Mom puts up with every day. She is just 64. Sometimes I wonder if it would be better for her to move on, but as long as she can/wants to fight, we will support her. She will always be an inspiration to me.....

I just saw Our Hospitality and Sherlock Jr. on DVD, and was wondering -- how realistic are the period sets? Were 1830s train rides really like those depicted in the film? Guy ← Strangely enough, filmmakers in the first half of the 20th Century were stickler's to detail, wardrobe, they hated to be off, proven to have a 1840's chair in a film in the 1820's...but could care less about making shit up about real people! I wondered about the train myself when they ran Out Hospitality on TCM in April, and they mentioned the name of it in the Allmovie review, it is a Stephenson's Rocket. Very interesting how very long ago the world had locomotives!(Click on link below photo for the story) http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessi...wp=8&sbid=lc01a

this is very rambling, I apologize..... You may recall me posting 2003 about my Mom having stage 4 Cancer,(large tumor under her armpit that was mentioned on a radiologist's report a year before we knew anything about it) going thru Chemo and radiation since then. She is also a diabetic, with edema problems in both legs(and now her right arm, since radiation destroyed the lymph nodes)with Atrial Fibrillation (irregular heart beat) Mom has had breathing problems ever since she was diagnosed with Pneumonia in march.(Then they called it MRSA, a type of staff infection) She has been on Oxygen and using a nebulizer ever since. Well, the last week or so, she was really having trouble getting back in bed from the port a potty. We had to lift her right leg from the ground. She was just getting weaker and weaker. Mom couldn't get out of the wheelchair to get in the car Thursday, no matter how many times we tried. So had to call 911. Mom has been anemic since she got off the Chemo in August, but it has gotten much worse in the last few months. Don't know if it is the lung problem or since she wasn't up to getting her twice a month red blood cell shots for 6 weeks just made her that much worse. Mom had a 2 pint blood transfusion a few weeks ago, and a red blood cell shot , but didn't do anything for her. In fact, her numbers were even lower. So, while in the hospital, she got 2 more pints and a double shot of Procrit(She was on another red blood cell booster before)as well. X-ray shows no Pneumonia, her heart sounds better than ever, her Kidneys are ok (for a diabetic), but something is making this illness chronic, and anemic. We asked, does she still have MRSA? No definitive answer. She had another sputum test, which takes a few days to get back. Her Oncologist saw her one day, but otherwise, doctor of the day for the 6 days she was in the hospital. One nurse came in while I was visiting, and was talking about the MRSA like it was still there(They put up a sign on the door saying MRSA when she was admitted, some nurses even bothered to put on masks) We were told in March that any time she came into the hospital since she once had it, she would always be treated as if it was still there. So, I asked her, was there a result of the sputum test, or was it just what was originally in her file. She said she would check. After asking her nicely about 5 times, she finally remembered to look(Nurses are very busy in hospitals of course) She comes back and wrote down Serratia Liquefaciens, moderate growth. Like MRSA, a bacterial infection, resistant to antibiotics. No, nurse had never heard of it. Ok. This is where I get mad at the medical profession. Did my Dad or I ever see a doctor when we visited her at separate times each day she was in the hospital? No, not until she was discharged. Could a nurse or tech tell us roughly when the doctor would be in? No, of course not. Mom said doctors came in at 6 am, 10 am, 7 pm. The doctor she liked best left for her days off just before the Serratia Liquefaciens diagnosis. No one EVER mentioned to Mom she had this. No one seemed to know or care about the diagnosis either. One day a doctor came in and said since Mom had been on antibiotics most of the year(First for a sinus infection she has had for literally years) there was no point putting her on another one, then a few hours later, the nurse brought in...an antibiotic!! No reason given. The Oncologist who we really like, great guy who follows up with her other doctors, and is a caring guy, went out of town for the Memorial Weekend Friday, so don't know if he knows about the Serratia Liquefaciens issue, or not. We tried to call over there, but couldn't get anywhere(He had told Mom that Dad or I could call and talk to him) so had Dad drop over a letter to his office. A visiting nurse who checks on Mom once a week, saw her right after she got out of the hospital Friday, and took off pressure bandages that were on her lower legs(Edema problems were so bad fluid was leaking out of her legs) and she discovered a large pressure sore on Mom's heal. The nurse was NOT impressed by the care given Mom in the hospital. She says it doesn't matter that her legs and feet were wrapped up, they should have looked at her feet in the 6 days she was in the hospital. Oh, the day Mom was released, she was still as weak as ever, but since all the vitals were good, out she went. I went downstairs to get a milk, and in the 5 minutes I was gone, the doctor came and went. So I ask the nurse where he was, he was in a small cubical next to the nurses station. I ask him about the Serratia Liquefaciens...he said is was no big deal, pretty common. Ok. Like pulling teeth to get anymore info out of him. I can see he is already thinking about the golf course over the weekend. We get Mom home by ambulance, she cannot get out of bed and on her feet, but she is fine to release!!! We needed the help of My Uncle's wife who was visiting for a few days from L.A. to just get her into bed. She had to have a catheter put in the next day. Clearly, she should not be home. My Dad is 73 and we both have bad backs, and Mom is overweight, and can't help us get onto a portapotty, or back in bed but Mom really hates being in the hospital, wants to be home with her family and cats. Besides, she was fine to go home! Maren has been a big help, I PM'ed her a few times,(She mentioned that I need to talk to the Infection disease specialist that most hospitals have, but I saw that info after we brought Mom home) and like me should could find precious little about Serratia Liquefaciens on the web, except for the same story over and over about a Kidney Dialysis facility in Colorado which had an outbreak because of double dipping needles. I don't know if Mom got this from one of her many blood transfusions, or what. I really feel Mom is close to death, she has been thru so much, she is in constant pain from back problems, nerve problems, and now being a prisoner in her own body, unable to even lift up from her pillow to turn on her light has really, really depressed her. But, her vitals are fine, so we can't get anyone to care except for the visiting Nurse. She called the Oncologist's main nurse today, but still haven't heard back from them as of 6:15. Her GP, another great guy, has no voice mail,( I know the visiting nurse has left a message with someone) but one can leave one with the prescription Nurse, big deal. Why don't we just call 911? Mom doesn't feel like the hospital will help at all, it was a waste of time the last visit. No IV antibiotics, or IV diuretic, everything in pill form which she can take here. We need to do something very soon. We just keep waiting for her to get stronger. She will seem a little stronger early in the day, then be weak as ever later on. Dad and I are stressed beyond what we would think our limits are. Up late every night, up early every morning...part of the reason this is so very rambling, is I can't really sleep much...I think I hear her calling, I hop out of bed only to find my mind is playing tricks on me. Then she really does call a half hour later. People have mentioned a rehabilitation facility being the best option,(Insurance will cover that, but not a 24/7 nurse which would no doubt be cheaper for the insurance company) but Mom sees that as a Nursing home, a place with strangers, a place to die in...I want to know what she has first, she isn't going to get stronger if she has an infection she cannot shake. I know there are good people in the medical profession, but doctors no longer come out to the house, hell you can't even get them to call you back. I figure like always, something will happen where even Mom will agree we need to call 911 (and wait hours and hours in the E.R. before they finally admit her again, or will they say her vitals are fine, and send her home, which almost happened the last time?) As you can see, my Dad and I are at a loss right now....I can't run my home based business well without leaving the house, We can't both be gone at the same time, hell I had to call Dad to come back when he was at getting Mom dinner a few days ago.... what do you all suggest???? Mom made career sacrifices to spend time with me as a kid, and I want the very best for her, all she has done is suffer horribly since 2001, but I am as powerless as she is right now........Thanks.............Conrad.

I like any show in which Shake gets his comeuppance (Are the kids still saying that?) I really hate him! My favorite show is probably the one with pop up ads taking over.

Best Pizza in the U.S.A. Is in THIS City The best pizza in the entire United States is not in New York City. Or Chicago. It's in Phoenix, Arizona. That's the word from New York food critic Ed Levine who just wrote the book, "Pizza: A Slice of Heaven." This mouth-watering, just-have-to-get-it pizza is from Pizzeria Bianco in downtown Phoenix. "In many ways, it's the definition of a perfect pizza," Levine told The Arizona Republic in an interview. When he first ate it while researching his book, he said, "I was blown away." While this is great news for the little pizzeria in Phoenix, those in the Big Apple are none too pleased. "I know it's not true," L. Goldberg, one of the partners in Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitano, boasted to the Republic. Her pizzeria is a descendant of a place called Lombardi's, which was the first licensed pizzeria in America, founded 1905. "It's the water. New York's got the best water. And yeast," she insisted. "Does he cook over coal? We use coal." No, he does not. The stove is wood-fired at Bianco's. But New Yorkers take heart: Owner Chris Bianco was born in the Bronx. "He grew up here, he learned to make pizza here, that makes him one of us," Nick Angelis of Nick's Pizza in uptown Manhattan exclaimed to the Republic. So if you can't make it to Phoenix, what's the best national pizza chain? For the second consecutive year, that would be Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza, according to Restaurants and Institutions magazine. It operates 850 restaurants in 28 states with plans to open another 100 locations soon. American City Business Journals reports that these rankings are based on customer opinions on food quality, menu variety, value, reputation, service, atmosphere, cleanliness, and convenience. Some 200 of the nation's largest pizza chains were part of the survey. http://channels.netscape.com/ns/homereales...pizza/bestpizza

First, you highjack my thread, then you tell me I have missed The G man!!!! Do you know if he played "Crazy Frog"????

Actually, one of the few groups that sound interesting is Coldplay, so for them to be topped by this.... Phone Ring Tone Set to Top U.K. Charts Email this Story May 29, 8:30 AM (ET) LONDON (AP) - A cell-phone ring tone appeared set to top the British singles chart Sunday, outselling the new single by the band Coldplay by nearly four to one, a music retailer said. "Crazy Frog Axel F," a ring tone based on the sound of a revving Swedish mo-ped, is the first tune being used on mobile phones to cross into mainstream music charts, said Gennaro Castaldo, a spokesman for HMV, the British music retailing chain. Coldplay had hoped to go straight to No. 1 on this Sunday's British singles chart with its new song, "Speed of Sound." But by Saturday, it appeared that the ring tone - which is available for digital download and as a compact disc single - would prevail, said Castaldo. The ring tone was expected to replace the Oasis tune "Lyla" as the No. 1 hit on the list released Sunday by the Official UK Charts Co. The weekly singles chart, which has been released since 1952, is based on the sales of 5,600 retail shops across Britain. While "Crazy Frog" and other ring tones do not appear to be much of a hit among adults, so many youngsters are personalizing the sound of their cell phones that such digital music could change world music markets. "Music purists might not be too happy at the prospect of the "Crazy Frog" outselling Coldplay, but it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise when you consider its huge novelty appeal and the massive amount of exposure it is currently getting," said Castaldo. The ring tone is based on a song that was recorded in Sweden nearly a decade ago by 17-year-old Daniel Malmedahl, using the high pitched revving of a two-stroke motorcycle, The International Herald Tribune reported Saturday. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050529/D8ACRBPG0.html

He would rather have never been born if it had not been created.

I do think we should at least forward them to spoof@ebay.com or spoof@paypal.com as soon as we get them so they can at least shut the folks down(for an hour or two at least) before they get some old person who just signed up with paypal or whatever and think it is a legit request......

sacrebleu!

Always behind the times? ← I thought he was a little "youger" as well. A more indepth article explains why, and goes into his military days as well...at least read down to DDT! Green Acres' Star Eddie Albert Dies at 99 'Green Acres' Star Eddie Albert Dies at 99Eddie Albert, Star of Movies and TV's 'Green Acres,' Dies at 99 at His Home in Los Angeles Eddie Albert, whose lighthearted portrayals made him a favorite in movies and television for more than 50 years, has died at the age of 99. Albert, seen here surrounded by corn stalks at his Pacific Palisades home in Los Angeles in a file photo taken in September, 1999, died of pneumonia Thursday, May 26, 2005, at his home ,in the presence of his longtime caregivers and son Albert, family friend Dick Guttman said Friday, May 27. (AP Photo/Palisadian Post, Susan Schell, File) By RYAN PEARSON Associated Press Writer The Associated Press LOS ANGELES May 28, 2005 — Eddie Albert was a versatile actor who moved smoothly from the Broadway stage to movies, but he found stardom as the constantly befuddled city slicker-turned-farmer in television's "Green Acres." Albert died of pneumonia Thursday at his home in the Pacific Palisades area, in the presence of caregivers including his son Edward, who was holding his hand at the time. "He died so beautifully and so gracefully that literally this morning I don't feel grief, I don't feel loss," Edward Albert told The Associated Press. On "Green Acres," Albert played Oliver Douglas, a New York lawyer who settles in a rural town with his glamorous wife, played by Eva Gabor, and finds himself perplexed by the antics of a host of eccentrics, including a pig named Arnold Ziffel. He was nominated for Academy Awards as supporting actor in "Roman Holiday" (1953) and "The Heartbreak Kid" (1972). Besides the 1965-1971 run in "Green Acres," he costarred on TV with Robert Wagner in "Switch" from 1975 to 1978 and was a semi-regular on "Falcon Crest" in 1988. He was a tireless conservationist, crusading for endangered species, healthful food, cleanup of Santa Monica Bay pollution and other causes. Albert's mother was not married when he was born, in 1906. After marrying, she changed his birth certificate to read 1908, the younger Albert said. Rarely the star of films, Albert often portrayed the wisecracking sidekick, fast-talking salesman or sympathetic father. His stardom came in television, especially with "Green Acres," in which, ironically, he played straight man. The show joined "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Petticoat Junction" and other high-rated CBS comedies of the 1960s and '70s. "Some people think that because of the bucolic background `Green Acres' is corny," Albert told an interviewer in 1970. "But we get away with some of the most incredible lines on television." His break in show business came during the '30s in the Broadway hit "Brother Rat," a comedy about life at Virginia Military Institute. Warner Bros. signed him to a contract and cast him in the 1938 film. According to Hollywood gossip, he was caught in a dalliance with the wife of Jack L. Warner and the studio boss removed him from a film and allowed him to languish under contract. The actor left Hollywood and appeared as a clown and trapeze artist in a one-ring Mexican circus. He escaped his studio contract by joining the Navy in World War II and served in combat in the South Pacific. He received a Bronze Star for his heroic rescue of wounded Marines at Tarawa, his son said. Defense Suddenly Rests in Jackson Case Roaring Laughs in 'Madagascar' DeLay Blasts 'Law & Order' Albert managed to rehabilitate his film career after the war, beginning with "Smash-up" with Susan Hayward in 1947. Among his other films: "Carrie," "Oklahoma!" "The Teahouse of the August Moon," "The Sun Also Rises," "The Roots of Heaven," "The Longest Day," "Miracle of the White Stallions," "The Longest Yard" and "Escape to Witch Mountain." Edward Albert Heimberger was born in Rock Island, Ill., grew up in Minneapolis and worked his way through two years at the University of Minnesota. Amateur theater led to singing engagements in nightclubs and on radio. During that time he dropped his last name "because most people mispronounced it as 'Hamburger.'" Moving to New York, Albert acted on radio and appeared in summer stock before he broke into Broadway and the movies. "Green Acres" made Albert a rich man and allowed him to pursue his causes. He established Plaza de la Raza, a foundation in East Los Angeles that teaches arts to poor Hispanics. He helped Dr. Albert Schweitzer combat famine in Africa. He traveled the world for UNICEF. Concerned about seeing fewer pelicans on beaches where he was jogging, he went with ecologists and his son on a trip to Anacapa Island. "We discovered that in every nest all the eggs were crushed, and nobody knew why," the younger Albert said. "They took samples and tested them, and found DDT in all the eggs. … An entire generation of species was being wiped out." Albert began speaking about the harmful effects of the pesticide at universities around the country, and in 1972 the federal government banned DDT. He continued acting into his 80s, often appearing in television movies. "Acting was a tenth of his life. The majority of his life was committed to helping other people," said his son, also an actor. "This guy was, from the absolute depth of his soul, one of the true heroes of our world." Defense Suddenly Rests in Jackson Case Roaring Laughs in 'Madagascar' DeLay Blasts 'Law & Order' Edward Albert, 54, who became a prominent actor in "Butterflies Are Free," "40 Carats" and other films, said he put his career on hold for the past eight years to aid his father, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease. On Friday, he remembered a moment several years ago in which the two sat in a garden together. "I said to him 'You're my hero.' I saw him struggling to put together the words, and he looked at me and said: 'You're your hero's hero.' I'll take that to my … grave." Albert was married to the dancer-actress Margo for 40 years until her death in 1985. In addition to his son, Albert is survived by a daughter, Maria Albert Zucht, and two granddaughters. A private funeral was planned. Associated Press Writer Bob Thomas contributed to this report. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=799217

Hey, after that much trouble, I thought it would be bigger!