sal

Love Red Stripe. But however, like all imported beers, its tastes SO much better at the source. I traveled to Jamaica a few times in my last job role, and from the time I got back to the hotel right up to bedtime, you couldn't pry those little fat bottles out of my hands. Absolutely delicious.

I'm glad that Ballard is in the drummers chair. I like his playing with Meldau much more than Jorge Rossy.

A Beautiful Day is really good. I don't even know why I'm contributing to this thead.....its not like I've ever heard any bad Andrew Hill albums.

Rice hopes Colts trample da' Bears WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice often spends her days trying to bring two opposing factions to the negotiating table in the hope of finding peaceful resolutions. But on Sunday, Rice is shelving diplomacy and is taking sides in Super Bowl XLI. The nation's top diplomat will be rooting for the Indianapolis Colts over the Chicago Bears this Sunday. Rice told a meeting of network bureau chiefs Wednesday that while she is a big fan of Bears coach Lovie Smith and Colts coach Tony Dungy, she really wants Colts quarterback Peyton Manning to win a Super Bowl ring. Rice's favorite team, the Cleveland Browns, did not make the playoffs. Rice is one of the highest-profile football fans in the nation's capital and has said her dream job is to be commissioner of the National Football League.

That's great news! I was already really looking forward to the film, and this increases the anticipation.

This one is by far my favorite of his more recent recordings. On par with the BN's in my book.

Who else is in the quartet?

I'm with Noj with regards to "Black Fire" being the next one you buy. You might want to try "Passing Ships" after that. If after these three, you are still liking what you hear, you probably can't go wrong with any of his other classic Blue Note titles. I'm a Hill fanatic, and think they are all essential.

14 for me

Well, I saw this last night. Not sure if my expectations were just too high, but I was under whelmed. I didn't really feel any sort of emotion while watching it, and at the same time I felt like the film was a merging of certain elements from other films I'd already seen before. I felt as if the scenes that were supposed to be "intense" were rehashed. I could easily see how they could work, but I'd felt I'd seen pretty much all of it before. In the end, I came out respecting the film, and even moderately enjoyed it, but I wasn't moved at all. This one was going for the jugular, and unfortunately it just didn't work for me. At the same time, I thought that it was visually stunning, and thought the performances were superb, particularly by the actor who played Vidal. I think this film will end up being a turning point for Guillermo Del Torro (who, as mentioned above, has made crap for the better part of his career), and I'll be looking forward to his next project. I'm very happy to see the strides made by Mexican directors this year! Although this one and "Babel" didn't work for me as they apparently have for many others, I'm glad to see these guys getting recognition (Children of Men is amazing). Mexico has always been a center of some superb film talent, and here's hoping that people start to recognize that.

I say as long as Mosaic keeps putting out the good stuff, who cares about anything else.

...how is he going to play with the electronic ankle bracelet on??? He'll use it to rap on Peyton's helmet after he sacks his ass!

Here's the incident as it happened: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSLWMmiya9M

Earl Klugh on Mosaic?

I think its foolish to dismiss this coming Super Bowl to an automatic Colts victory. The Bears defense has really stepped it up during these playoffs, and you know they'll be running the ball like there's no tomorrow. Like every other Bears fan, I don't want a situation to arise where the game is dependant on Grossman's passing, but then again, he's not made those mistakes during these playoffs that he was making at the end of the regular season. I think this is going to be a very good game. More than anything, both teams have had this trip to the Super Bowl coming for a long time now. I think we're in for an excellent show this Sunday.

Somehow, based on this review, I don't think I'd take this guy's opinion very seriously.

I thought the article was an interesting read. And unless there's something personal going on that I don't know about, I really don't see the point of Dan's seemingly out-of-nowhere assault on Simon's work.

Yeah, I was upstate NY during the first week of October a couple years back, and it was spectacular.

I have the Solti recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and love it. This is one of my favorite pieces of orchestral music. Mahler was a genius.

Wise decision. This is one of the great ones.

Blah........... The most watered down stout known to man. cream stout is the lightest drink i ever imbibe. it is watery but passable, and sam smith's oatmeal is a bit sweet for me, as well. i cant always be drinkin' a kalamazoo, or expedition, or blackout though i would love to. there has been no bell's distributor in my town for the last month. Bells got cut from Illinois distribution as well. Terrible.

Mad Hatter India Pale Ale from Michigan's New Holland Brewery. Absolutely, positively the most delicious IPA on the planet.

After seeing "The Sting" recently, I'm looking to purchase some good Scott Joplin rags. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

What a night its been.....