connoisseur series500

I don't think it's worth paying more than $20 for. I think I paid $23 for mine. These things come up at reasonable prices eventually.

Algeria was the French Vietnam. Many of the French generals and commanders in the Algerian war also fought in Indochina. Wasn't it Tunisia which was the bastion of stability next to Algeria? Then the FLN got involved over there, I believe. Forgot the name of that Tunisian leader who kept his country normal dispite the horrors next door.

Glad you like em, Underground.

We don't have the snow down here in Toledo, Randy, but it is frigging cold. Not fit for man nor beast.

I was a baseball fan as a kid and ironically my favorite team was Johnny's: the Philadelphia Phillies. I believe that you cannot allow Pete Rose into the HOF. The Hall has to represent more than just on-the-field prowess. Conduct has to be considered. Besides that, Pete is an embarassment to the human race...

At the end of the war (1962) I saw WWI Lebel rifles - the very long one with those narrow bayonette sticking just above the gunmouth - being distributed to non-fighting soldiers. They were ashamed of being seen with those! I went to Algeria right at the beginning of 1961. Ended my military career walking the streets near the Casbah to make sure the fascists OAS fighters would not kill too many natives. My moment of glory during the war was when I and another soldier were assigned to arrest a French Army Colonel whose regiment had joined the anti-de Gaulle uprising in Algiers in April 1961. The colonel who knew he had taken the wrong route took this in a pretty dignified way. Strange moment! Strange war! On the eve of my departure from Algiers harbour there was a goddamned awful explosion (from an OAS bomb) in the harbour at the early morning when the arab workers would gather in the hope of getting work at the docks. There were some 70 dead. I left the country the following morning. There still was blood and bits of flesh all around. Man, that war was a mess. I used to live next door to a Frenchman who had served in the Algerian War as well. He didn't tell me too much about it; he was a gaduate of St. Cyr. I read Alistair Horne's book on Algeria years ago. Don't remember much beyond the horrible slaughter on both sides. The French military was split internally and there was that coup against DeGaulle. The pied noir were indefatigable. Wasn't it Mendes-France who promised to get France out of Algeria? And then there was that popular French paratroop general who would often make grand entrances for the Press by parachuting down in front of them. One time he miscalculated and landed in shark infested waters. What was that slogan they had? "Algerie Francais, Algerie Francais..."

No, I live in the real world,not an ivory tower. B) I have a Master's degree in Literature (which is NOT Grammar!!) Taught writing (yuck!) for a few years in Thailand. Hated it. I no longer teach.

Pretty good overall, DEEP. You tend to leave out commas, but lets' just correct the more egregious omissions: on Sweet Georgia paragraph: "That's all it took..." Change to "All it took..." on Brotherhood of man paragraph: place a comma after "Broadway show," on Groovin High paragraphs: "Joe M comes from amongst others, after "Fats Navarro" place a ; instead of , so... "Fats Navarro; and then there's Mr. Barry Harris." Grammar squirrels would call this a comma splice. on Foxhunt: place a comma thus: "Before the last take, 'Baby Gisby' walked over..." Final paragraph: "The nice option that the listener has is..." What grammar squirrels call a passive sentence. Suggested change: The listener has the nice option of pouring another taste, sitting back...etc. Make sure you change all the remaining verb tenses in that sentence to stay consistent. Other than that, I'd Ride with it!

My pleasure, DEEP. Entertaining liner notes, I might add...

Just don't pick up any hitchhikers while passing through.

tense is incorrect. He has participated... Same with the paragraph on Lew Tabackin: "He has been involved..." is better. And the second to last sentence: "He's featured extensively..." doesn't work. Try: He is extensively featured... okay? That's all the nitpicking I've got time for. Patty: Your Turn!

Patty: come put some of your book-learning to use here. Help DEEP out. It's the DRY SEASON and he's suffering. Nothing duller than proofreading something. "For extensive biographical data on the holdovers from our first BBB release, please refer to my notes..." etc.

Toledo has 400K people??? holy crap I never knew that!!! seems like a small city I think we need much stricter gun control here. And that idiot Michael Moore needs to stop with the lies. I have opened 2 bank accounts here in Michigan, and the people I work with all have bank accounts, and none of us got a gun. Okay, how about 300-400,000 people, suburbs included of course? I think that's the more accurate figure. We're including Sylvania, Holland, Monclova, Perrysburg, Oregon--all the outlying suburbs. I think it comes close to 400,000 people. Ann Arbor is pretty big if you include all the prison population in Milan.

What a blow out! Boardmembers overwhelmingly do NOT own guns. Amazing. Personally, this comes as a surprise to me. I have no idea which of my neighbors have or do not have guns (except for the cop next door) as it was a subject that never came up. I feel a lot better now knowing that I'm not hiding my head in the sand by not owning a gun. Apparently, most of us feel one is not necessary; and I know many of you live in bigger cities than I do. It strikes me as important to avoid guns if one has kids. Catesta sounds like he needs one. I love to visit Cabellas with my kid and we ooh and aah at the guns and the fishing tackle and the displays but in the end we are unarmed. Some of us who voted here don't live in America, I'm sure, but I hope the result of this poll do send a message to our nonAmerican boardmembers: don't believe the media! We are not ALL armed to the teeth. Only Joe G is!

Why, what would they have in NJ? I mean seriously, I don't know much about this kind of stuff. Are country folk better armed than city folk, or is it the opposite?

Don't care for Nugent but I have never fired at his house. Not a good idea, Chuck, I would imagine the return fire would be pretty thick.

And after that you got hooked forever and now own an armory, correct Jim?

Hold on a cotton-pickin minute, there, Dan.... You're a CONSERVATIVE; therefore, you must OWN a gun!! (Damn, the media...)

It's now 11 "no" to 2 "yes," since I count my antique gun as a "no." Don't think Johnny has voted yet. Wouldn't it be funny if he owned a gun?

What are we: a bunch of pacifists or what? I am totally surprised by the early returns here. Judging by the media, I thought Americans were armed to the teeth. I thought Michael Moore said we all have wet dreams about guns. Moore claims that we can get a gun by opening an account in a Michigan bank. Hell, in Iraq all he's got to do is a dig a little hole and he'll find a whole bunch of em! Whose got all the guns? The criminals?

Funny thing is that I would try to sell off my antique revolver, only my father is still alive and would be hurt by the gesture. One of my nephews in Canada might be interested in it, but we can't take guns (antique or otherwise) across the border. I've gotta wait... I have no interest in the thing. It's circa 1890s. Probably would have been worth a mint except my Dad "blued" the barrel. Don't quite know how he did that. He explained it to me once, but my eyes glazed over and I didn't quite catch the explanation.

Amazing how the vote is coming out so far. It's kind of heartening. And I was starting to feel so defenceless...

yes, and... Thanks for being the first to admit you've got one CF.

I've never owned a gun in my life, nor would I even know how to shoot one. I've never even fired a hunting weapon. But I sometimes wonder if I should explore getting one. I don't live in a huge city, but my city has 400,000 people. I'm very interested in what others have to say on the subject.

Damn, I should have added another choice: hunting guns only. I've got an antique Webley & Scott revolver. I don't even display it. Inherited it. I probably should have just voted "no."