BERIGAN

I like people that put two words together, I never thought I would see...together!

Good point!

Oh baby, you know what I like...

David, I am so sorry. Like Al and others said, it sounds like she was a great woman. We know from how you are that she was a great Mother as well.

Loren Schoenberg, Keepnews, Morgenstern,(Did his daughter Rhoda ever write any?) and as mentioned before, Michael Brooks. He gets a bit flowery, but I really like it....On the Bing Crosby set the Columbia Years. Lawd, You Made the Night Too Long.....Another great rarity, and I salute the American public for helping it reach that status. You have 5:21 to fix yourself a drink. On the Track Love me Tonight. Frankie Trumbauer, whose C-Melody Sax waves a discreet sensualilty around the record, encasing the whole thing in the sheerest satin lingerie. And on the track It's Within Your Power. Jimmy Dorsey, a sadly underrated figure in jazz history, shine briefly, his tone as pure and clear as a fawn bathing in a mountain stream

Yes, I don't see how they could do this, unless the record was going for so much, that insurance is now more expensive...would have to be A LOT to warrent that increase.... Ebay has become a real ass about getting to pages, or linking to them...lets see if this one for retracting your bid works... yeah..forgot you have to sign in to do that...so, in case you didn't know where it was, scroll down to bottom of left hand corner of page... http://pages.ebay.com/services/index.html?...ame=h:h:serv:US

err...as Africa said....

Well...cheapness is a pretty general term...I can see someone being selfless in their cheapness, putting a kid thru college, for a car for the spouse...Dishonesty on the other hand....that is almost always a selfish thing to do.

You one of them foreigners as well???

I just can't believe it!!!! From an email.... Alzheimer's Test- Count the "F's" in the following text: FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE- SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIF- IC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS...(see below) Managed it ? Scroll down only after you have counted them, okay? Do you think there are three? How many ? 3? Wrong, there are 6 !!--no joke. Read it again. The reasoning behind is further down. The brain cannot process "OF". Incredible or what ? Go back and look again!! Anyone who counts all 6 "F's" on the first go is a genius. Three is normal, four is quite rare. Send this to your friends-it drives them crazy

Yeah, the thought that Bonds, and Giambi might be on Steroids can't kill it for me... Mike Shannon-The other play by play guy with Jack Buck used to say, Abner Doubleday, you've done it again! (I know, Abner Doubleday most likely wasn't the father of baseball) But, a game that can suffer strikes, owners like Steinbrenner, other owners that just take the money for putting bad teams on the field, cannot put the fire out...not that they haven't come close a few times...but the game is better than the negatives.....

I hope Bong pitches for many more years, I love seeing his name in print, and so to sports writers it appears. Oh....the braves have now traded their top 2 pitching prospects...to rent players for this season. I dearly hope they are a last place team this year.... Braves get Reitsma, send Bong to Reds By DAVID O'BRIEN Published on: 03/26/04 Lake Buena Vista, Fla. -- Continuing their bullpen-strengthening mission, the Braves completed a second trade in as many days, acquiring right-hander Chris Reitsma from Cincinnati for pitchers Jung Keun Bong and Bubba Nelson. A hard thrower who made the transformation from struggling starter to effective reliever in 2003, Reitsma was the Reds' closer late in the season. "He gives us a deeper bullpen and a little protection for [closer John] Smoltz, in case something happens," said Braves general manager John Schuerholz, who acquired right-hander Juan Cruz from the Chicago Cubs in a Thursday trade. Reitsma, 26, said he was taken by "complete surprise" by the trade. The Braves and Red Sox were among many teams that tried hard to get him last year, with Boston reportedly offering a package of four players. "I'm really excited to be part of their [braves] organization," Reitsma said. "The winning speaks for itself. I'm their property, and whatever they want to do with me, I'll do to the best of my ability." He will likely be the primary setup man, supplanting Antonio Alfonseca. "We like where we are now better than where we were before we made these deals," added Schuerholz, who was unwilling to stand pat with an underperforming bullpen clouded by several health issues. Reitsma is an imposing (6 feet 5, 235 pounds) ground-ball pitcher who throws a hard sinker, a mid-90 mph fastball and a good change-up. "We tried hard to get him last year for our pennant run and again this winter," Schuerholz said. "Our people evaluated him as one of the top guys in the business in the role he's now doing." After going 1-1 with a 7.27 ERA in three early season starts, he went 8-4 with a 3.51 ERA in 54 relief appearances, with 47 strikeouts and only 15 walks in 66 2/3 innings. He converted 12 of 18 save opportunities. "You just hate to see somebody like him go," Reds closer Danny Graves said after another deal that disappointed Cincinnati players and fans. "You try to get used to it, but I don't think there's any way you can get used to it." Reitsma lost his arbitration case with the Reds last month and was awarded a $950,000 salary for 2004. Cruz, 25, wasn't eligible for arbitration and will make $380,000. "Both of them have been starters -- that's a plus, too," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "Who knows what's going to happen next year?" The Braves traded two prospects, lefty Andy Pratt and second baseman Richard Lewis, to get Cruz. For Reitsma they gave up two more pitchers, 23-year-old lefty Bong and Nelson, 22. Nelson was rated the No. 3 prospect in the organization after going 8-10 with a 3.18 ERA last season as a starter at Class AA Greenville and posting a 1.88 ERA in 11 relief appearances at Class AAA Richmond. Bong was 6-2 with a 5.05 ERA in 44 relief appearances with the Braves last season and was competing for a bullpen spot this spring. Schuerholz said the Braves may not be finished with spring deals. "We're in a committed battle to win a division," he said. "One of great assets we have in this organization is a very rich farm system, which provides us with the ability to be aggressive on trade fronts." Alfonseca's poor spring was an impetus for the trades. But unless he's dealt, he seems assured of making the team because of a guaranteed $1.35 million contract and the fact he still throws hard. http://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sports/b.../27reitsma.html

One thing to consider if you are in Deer country(I think we all are!) is something called R1, R2 insurance renters insurance, I believe. I was told about this by the Ford dealership that rented cars(My 66 Dodge had been totaled by an uninsured motorist-coverage I did have) She said most companies didn't cover hitting an animal, or at least they covered the damage, but you footed the bill for renting a car...this was a few years back I heard this...I of course never asked by State farm agent about this.

No, I don't really..but oh what fun to have of a WD45 and a MD45 on this board! and I could use a slightly altered photo as my avatar! a free Kenny G cd(just as soon as I get a free one) to any board member who knows what MD45 is without a googling!

I will by getting this product!

The real name for them is chiclets! At least that is what we called them at Borders! They didn't use to put them in the cases, cuz manufacturers didn't seem to care if the cd was stolen at the store level, somebody paid for the cd, so we wasted time putting cds in those hard to open cd...hell, I forget the name, just a case with a chiclet in it, to put over the cd you took home Guess what...we used to sticker ALL hardback books at Borders, take the cover off the book, and STICK the tacky side to the spine of the book. For the life of me, I don't know why people didn't complain, I guess not that many people took dust jackets off. Then, some bright bulb higher up got the idea of just dropping them into each and every Hardback, and trade paperback book! They didn't stay in when books were opened up, strangely enough! I said to higher ups, that these things were a lawsuit waiting to happen...they were all over the floor, and some 2 year old is going to choke on one....several months later, we are now wasting time taking them out all of our books...guess a kid choked on one. So much cheaper to hire security in the long run one would think...

Najee. Man, I thought that Stevie Wonder trib cd sucked, so naturally it was played to death at borders...and I see Scott Yanow gives it 4 1/2 stars!

Hey, cheer up RDK, Scotland has the same problem! Why Scotland is dumbing down Jim Gilchrist When it was reported last year that a 13-year-old at a Scottish secondary school wrote her homework essay in text message abbreviations, the nation recoiled in horror. Surely our literacy levels hadn’t reached such abhorrent levels? Surely in Scotland, the country of the Enlightenment, we had not regressed this far? But despite the hand-wringing, statistics are stacking up that tell us this is, indeed, the case. An estimated 23 per cent of adults in Scotland have low levels of literacy and numeracy skills. Last year 49 per cent of S2 pupils failed the national writing test, 39 per cent failed reading. More schoolchildren than ever before are going on to tertiary education, but no longer to study the likes of literature, philosophy and the arts. Now, driven by a demanding job market, many opt for vocational courses such as IT studies and town planning. Most recently, moves have been made to eradicate Latin, the foundation of most modern languages and to many the benchmark of a good education, from the school curriculum. So is it a case of nunc et nunquam - now or never - for Latin and Greek in Scotland? Fears that the Scottish Executive is phasing out Latin in state schools by withdrawing funding from those who teach the teachers have certainly had classics scholars forming cohorts of indignant protest. It’s easy to see classics in retreat, but this seems bizarre when universities have possibly more studying classical subjects than ever The row has erupted over the University of Strathclyde’s decision to suspend its teacher training course in Latin and Greek, following the retirement this summer of its senior lecturer in classics. Strathclyde’s is the only facility in Scotland for teacher training in Latin and, while the university insists that the post is simply being left "fallow" for a year, academics writing to The Scotsman and other papers are clearly concerned that it could mean the thin edge of the wedge in ousting the so-called "dead" languages from Scottish classrooms, on the grounds that there are not enough pupils learning them to justify the expense of training teachers. Yet, argue the protestors, interest in general classical studies, if not purely in Latin and Greek, is on the increase. Once a foundation of the traditionally broad Scottish education, which gave rise to the 18th-century Scottish Enlightenment and what has become known as the "democratic intellect", Latin in schools, like the Roman empire, has declined mightily, being widely regarded as irrelevant, elitist and defunct. Others regard its endangered classroom status as simply another example of the trend towards sidestepping challenging subjects. Dr Ronald Knox, senior teacher of Latin and Greek at Glasgow University, and one of a group of academics who wrote to The Scotsman last week calling on the Scottish Executive to ensure continued provision of classics teachers, sees the present threat as part of what he calls a broader "impoverishment of opportunity". "In one sense it’s easy to see classics as being in retreat since about 1900, but this seems bizarre at a time when universities have possibly more people studying classical subjects, though not necessarily Latin and Greek, than ever before. So it is just not true that there is no demand and, as classicists, we are now very concerned, because there ought to be a teacher training facility for classics somewhere in Scotland, in Strathclyde if it is willing to continue, or somewhere else." Latin and Greek no longer enjoy the status they once had in a society in which they were essential to the training of teachers, doctors, scientists and the clergy. Yet these languages have far from outlived their usefulness. "European civilisation as a whole has roots and you only understand the branches with deference to these roots," says Knox. "Whatever modern language you’re dealing with, at least beyond a very small compass, you run up against classical notions. And when we teach classical civilisation courses, we give students stuff on classical democracy, as well as on tragedy and comedy and so many literary genres which were invented in Greece and Rome." Latin and Greek are not the only ones to suffer. Grammar, once regarded as an essential part of the school curriculum, is no longer taught in most schools. Basic levels of literacy are of increasing concern in Scottish schools. Four in ten candidates failed last year’s Higher English and 25 per cent scored less than 30 per cent. Tony Williams, senior lecturer in classics at Strathclyde University who retires this summer and is at the centre of the row, does not regard "dumbing down" as an inappropriate phrase for the current situation. "I think subjects such as classical languages, known to be intrinsically challenging, have been under pressure for some time because bums on seats has been the criteria." Yet as he and others point out, general interest in classical studies seems to be growing. Dr Tom Harrison, director of teaching in St Andrews University’s school of classics, reports an increase over the past few years, with between 130-140 students in his current first year. "That’s also had an effect in increasing staff numbers and our department has gone up by at least two people over the last couple of years. We wouldn’t get that if we weren’t making money by teaching more students." This month St Andrews ran a conference for Higher students, which attracted more than 100 pupils from local schools alone. Latin being taught in only 34 out of 577 state secondaries in Scotland may not sound good, says Harrison, "but in schools where it is taught, it’s thriving". Much ado about an archaic linguistic Cinderella, then? Duncan Hamilton, the 30-year-old former SNP MSP for the Highlands and Islands who raised the issue in his column in The Scotsman last week, thinks not. Describing himself as "a young man arguing for an old subject", he speculates: "Today Latin ... tomorrow medieval history? Are we to say that anything which is not immediately capable of sponsorship by a private company no longer of any worth?" But the demand is most certainly there, according to Barbara Bell, head of classics at Clifton High School in Bristol and author of the Minimus Mouse books, whose unexpected success worldwide has, it has been said, done for Latin teaching what Harry Potter did for children’s reading. Her books, aimed at the seven-to-ten age group but used, she claims, by "two to 87-year-olds", can be taught by non-specialists, "but there is no doubt that if we’re going to have a generation of children who are keen on Latin and want to take it further, we must have a certain supply throughout the country of trained specialists." Bell believes there is huge interest among children - "Whoever says there isn’t is burying their heads in the sand. They may have their own agenda." She receives letters from young readers all over the world saying that "Latin is cool", while burgeoning adult interest is filling Open University courses every year. "Then, I suppose, there’s a generation in the middle who either had a bad experience of Latin or didn’t do any and they’re full of prejudice, and think it’s only for bright kids and it’s irrelevant, and they couldn’t be more wrong. " But classics scholars tempted to lament "O tempora! O mores!" can take some comfort from the potential Braveheart effect of the wave of Hollywood "sword and sandals" epics about to hit cinema screens, prompted by the success of Gladiator and liable to include three different films based on Alexander the Great alone. "Films do have an effect on public interest," agrees Knox. "Even the bad history can be useful in stimulating interest." And an impassioned plea for the classics comes from Valerio Massimo Manfredi, Italian archaeologist and author of a trilogy of novels on Alexander the Great as well as The Last Legion, all of which have inspired and informed films currently in production. "Let’s imagine that in 500 years’ time, or a thousand, English has become a dead language, replaced, perhaps, by Chinese. And let’s imagine that it is learned only in schools and universities, much as ancient Greek and Latin are now. At that point someone might claim that the study of English had become completely useless because it is a dead language and should be abolished in favour of other subjects, more functional and suitable to the times. "In theory, this wouldn’t mean much; in practice it would be a disaster. No-one would be able to read Chaucer,Shakespeare, Milton, Blake, Dickens, Joyce, etc, any longer. "This is why it would be a serious mistake to close the last institutions which cultivate the study of these so-called ‘dead’ languages." We neglect Latin and Greek at our peril, warns Manfredi, who goes so far as to point to Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 - about a future society that bans books. Greek and Latin, he argues, like music, poetry and art, are "vaccines against homogenisation, globalisation … the subjugation of minds." http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/s2.cfm?id=333212004

Yeah, there is nothing like having a boss, who makes 10's of thousands more than you, who doesn't know how to run spellcheck, or not to type emails with all letters in lower case. i hate when people do that!

Thai "Ladyboy" Kickboxer Is Gender-Bending Knockout... Laura Greene National Geographic On Assignment March 25, 2004 Laura Greene, host of National Geographic On Assignment, traveled to Thailand to delve into the world of the ladyboy—Thailand's "third sex." While on location she met with the country's most famous ladyboy—a former champion kickboxer named Nong Tum. Here Greene describes her time with Tum, and his transformation from a masculine boxer to a petit, pretty young woman. Tum's story is now the subject of the new movie Beautiful Boxer. I'm on my way to meet a celebrity who is a gender-bending knockout. Here in Thailand, Nong Tum is a household name. Meeting a star is a little nerve wracking at the best of times. But today I have extra reason to worry. Thailand's most famous "ladyboy" and former kickboxing champion Nong Tum teaches Laura Greene the basics of Muay Thai—traditional Thai boxing. Photograph by Jessica Harrington, courtesy National Geographic Channel On TV: National Geographic On Assignment profiles Thai "ladyboy" kickboxer Nong Tum in The Third Sex, Friday, March 26, at 7 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT on the National Geographic Channel. (Watch a video preview.) More News Adventure & Exploration Archaeology & Paleontology Kids News Animals & Nature Science & Technology People & Culture The Environment Travel National Geographic Channel Special Series Emerging Explorers National Geographic Out There Oceans Mount Everest Expedition Nong Tum is a champion kickboxer. She's the winner of 22 professional fights, one for every year of her life—18 knockouts and countless bloody noses span a six-year career in the ring. And now her life is the subject of a critically acclaimed movie. I've come to a traditional Thai boxing camp on the outskirts of Bangkok to find out what makes this particular celebrity so special. From the road I negotiate my way on foot through modest lean-tos and women preparing lunch on an outdoor burner. The open-air practice area sits alongside a canal. The fetid water mingles with hot sticky air laden with the stench of sweaty fights. Boys play among roosters and the debris of boxing—gloves, tape, and rubber tires. Suddenly among the swinging punch bags emerges a slender, pretty young woman. Nong Tum's sheer femininity is striking against such a masculine setting. Everything about her is delicate: her smile, her gentle manner, and her soft voice. This would be remarkable enough in itself when you consider the violent nature of this most macho of sports. It's all the more stunning, though, when you consider that Nong Tum used to be a man. Kickboxing Out of Poverty For many young Thai men, kickboxing is a way out of poverty, a chance to escape the often rural confines of life in a developing country where the average annual wage is less than U.S. $2,000. It is also revered as a sort of religion. The traditional boxing known as Muay Thai was once used to decide the fate of kings—ritual and ceremony surrounds this most respected of bloody battles. Champions become national heroes. And it's just for men. Nong Tum (born Parinya Charoenphol) began boxing as a boy—responding to the taunts and jeers of schoolboys who laughed at his girlish ways. But the first time the young Nong Tum fought back, the laughter ended. In later years in the ring, as a champion cross-dressing boxer, Tum would kiss his opponents on the cheek after reducing their arrogance to a heap of bloody pulp on the floor. With this in mind I enter the practice space with some trepidation. But it's hard to feel scared of a boxer whose last move before warming up is applying another layer of lip gloss. But lipstick aside, this girl can still throw the punches. The heavy leather gloves Nong Tum hands me are still damp from the last pair of sweaty hands they protected, and she giggles as I grimace at the smell and feel of them. Tum has been gearing up like this professionally since she was a teenager. Winning titles and attention, Nong Tum became famous as much for her style and grace in the ring, and her old-fashioned technique in this historic sport, as for the red lipstick and hair band she donned to face her opponents. Beautiful Boxer Homophobes and detractors were silenced by her victories. But to Tum, the wins and the prize money meant only one thing: a step closer to achieving her heart's desire of becoming a woman, through costly sex-reassignment surgery. The thing about a punching bag is that it's heavier than it looks. And it swings. If you've ever thrown your fist at one you'll know a mistimed hit garners no applause. And it hurts. Then there's the kicking. As a devotee of the Tomb Raider movie character Lara Croft, I'd always fancied myself in this role. Nong Tum aimed a couple of perfect swipes at the bag and finished off the demo with a series of shin kicks that landed with a satisfying thwack as skin hit leather. My attempts were less impressive, although Tum's suggestion that I summon some anger before throwing the next hit sure raised my game. Despite her fighting grunts and sure footing, it's so hard to see the man in her. I keep sneaking side glances at her pretty face, her swinging mane of glossy hair, and, yes, her very convincing breasts. With the thermometer straining over 90° Fahrenheit (32° Celsius), I'm a sticky mess. But Tum has barely broken a sweat. After a half hour of training, I'm done. So after watching her give an interview to another TV crew—a local reporter and cameraman who are evidently enthralled by her fame—Nong Tum takes me shopping. As we stroll through the open-air clothes stalls of Bangkok's Siam Square, children stare, women stop and clap their hands in delight, and a tentative few venture forth for an autograph and a handshake. Stopping at a street stand for sweet milky iced tea, Tum tells me she hopes the movie that has just come out about her life, Beautiful Boxer, will challenge perceptions of people like her: Thailand's "ladyboys." Thailand's Ladyboys No one really knows why, but Thailand has an unusually high number of ladyboys. Often theyre called katoey, a slang word for a man who chooses to live as a woman. Usually, a katoey will begin to take female hormones around puberty to inhibit masculine growth. Many will later have breast implants, and some, but not all, will have full sex-reassignment surgery to complete their transformation. Even after she has acquired the body of a woman, life for a katoey is anything but easy. Thailand is a Buddhist country where tolerance prevails. Nevertheless, beneath this formal acceptance, there's a powerful undertow of prejudice. Most katoey end up as performers, some as sex workers. They seek a world in which they are free to behave as they want, where no one will laugh at them—a place where they finally fit in. Nong Tum tells me she always knew she had the heart of a woman. Kickboxing provided the financial means to support her family and got her out of rural poverty. Her strength and dexterity in the ring, and her ability to knock out the toughest of fighters, won her fame and acceptance. But the lure of fulfilling her need to be completely female led Nong Tum to start taking the hormones. It was a katoey beautician who supplied the eager Tum with the first bottle of pills. The boxer's fans were shocked. As muscles waned and the jaw line softened, so did the prize-winning punches. But with the hope of becoming wholly female, Nong Tum finally went under the knife for full sex-reassignment surgery in 1999. Training Tomorrow's Champs Five years later it's honestly hard to know this gentle woman was ever a man. Her prizefights are over. In Muay Thai, women are not even allowed into the ring. So Nong Tum trains kids who want to follow in their champion's footsteps, no doubt attracted by the romance of a story with a happy ending. Tum will never legally be accepted as a woman in her own country. The ID card she shows me says "Mr." alongside her girlish photo. She will never marry, never give birth, and never again box professionally. Despite all that, she is happy. She tells me you cannot choose how you are born, but you can choose how you live. She uses the discrimination and disrespect directed at her to remind herself that she has to work hard to win people over and to prove she has a heart and soul like everyone else. Tum says she was born with a disadvantage; neither a woman nor a man but a "third sex." But she agrees with me that she is also lucky. She was born with a unique skill in kickboxing that made her wealthy and famous and that won her acceptance. Not all katoey are dealt such good fortune. Buddhists believe in reincarnation. So, as we say goodbye, I ask Tum if she could choose, how would she like to be born in her next life, as a man or a woman? I'm surprised by her answer. Tum says she would definitely choose to be born a man. But this time, a real man, with a man's heart to match the man's body. National Geographic On Assignment airs at 7 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT in the United States and is available only on the National Geographic Channel. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/03/0325_040325_TVthirdsex.html

I was wondering when Roker would do this, weren't you all? http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ima...22386-2004Mar24 Al Roker will be the next "Today" personality to have his colon examined on national TV. (NBC) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2004Mar24.html Damn, can't get the photo right! Just click on the second link, and look to the right of the screen....

Hey, isn't someone from the show in those Godawful GM Goodwrench ads? Man, do those suck! Yet, they keep running them!

Good catch, Rooster! I had noticed that something was different, but wasn't paying attention to what! Now, for my pick for wackiness...has anyone noticed that they do NOT use the same samples for the same song, by the same artist???? I remember wanting to post several months ago, a clip from the Glenn Miller tune The Spirit is Willing, to show what an unusual trumpet solo(for a white, commerical big band) was on it....well, never could because the cd (called The Spirit is Willing)I heard it on was out of print. Now, that cd has audio samples, but not that song. Didn't think I would find a sample, but I did! But, it was from the beginning of the song, so no good. Checked out another title, and I swore it sounded like it was later in the song. Must have imagined it...so, I go to another cd, and there is the trumpet solo! http://sg1.allmusic.com/cg/smp.dll?link=yo...mu56vt&r=64.asx see? Different addresses, why? One above has the better 30 seconds of the song... http://sg1.allmusic.com/cg/smp.dll?link=uo...y7hkay&r=20.asx

Perhaps Media player stinks on the stinky platform from Apple! Kidding! But I had no problems playing it, once I told my security it was ok to play the clips...

I take you have no cats? Or at least lock the door to this room with the sets open and vulnerable???