T.D.

Barbie Benton Hugh Hefner Pudge Heffelfinger

Damn. I thought for a while that the "Classical Discussion" forum had become reasonable... If I wanted to read NYT stories, I would visit the paper's website.

There was a funny story on Yahoo! News today (I didn't read it, just the headline) to the effect that OJ could've gotten less time by copping a plea.

Rod "He Hate Me" Smart Don Adams James Clerk Maxwell

No, not familiar. I used to attend Miller Theater concerts all the time, but moved away from NYC area in 2001. Would definitely have gone to the Ligeti concert if I was around. BTW, did you see Fredrik Ullen play the Ligeti Etudes in NYC (Cooper Union) in 2001? I heard very good things (not just media reviews, but from attendees) about that concert, which I inexcusably missed...

Bruce "Some silicone sister with her manager mister" Springsteen Manfred Mann Manny Pacquiao

Tuesday Weld Wednesday Addams G. K. Chesterton

I still haven't seen a definitive statement of OJ's minimum assured sentence. A consensus of 9 years had seemingly developed, but I just saw Yahoo! News come out with 15. I watched the sentencing live, and the judge's delivery was very confusing, making it highly challenging to calculate the minimum. I didn't take notes, and had no clue.

Just saw mention of Poe, which reminds me (re. detective stories) that as a fairly young kid I read all of the Poe (not just detective stories, of course, though I started out with them), Arthur Conan Doyle and G. K. Chesterton (Father Brown) stories I could find (as an adult, I bought complete collections of all). Poe's The Gold-Bug, specifically the gold beetle hanging from the tree, is one of my very earliest reading memories. Only specific young children's books I recall are Beverly Cleary's (which I remember fondly) and of course Dr. Seuss. OT re. Paul Auster, I read a little about him, expected to like his writing a lot (having lived in Brooklyn for quite a while) but read Ghosts (I believe), and didn't care for it at all. Barely finished, and have expunged most traces from my memory. I remember it being excessively Beckettian, while much more tedious. Have avoided his books ever since; considering that critics talk of his Lacan influence , I very much doubt I'd like them.

Tough to say until more facts are known, and one hates to rely on tabloid coverage. I'm an MSU Spartan and Burress fan, and also a Giant fan. I will say that Plaxico has been tough to deal with. Giants rewarded him with a big contract last off-season, and the difficult behavior continued (even seemingly got worse). Moreover, the club played well in his absence, and the passing game didn't noticeably fall off. As far as the gun thing goes, I'm content to let the legal process take its course. NYC Mayor Bloomberg's comments don't augur well for Burress, but the league and Plaxico's counsel may get him some kind of behind-the-scenes break. I expect the Giants to part company with him after the season, and don't blame them. Pity, because the dude's a great talent.

I heard a somewhat different version, with the same punch line. Also doubt the veracity.

PM sent on Carl Stone – Al-Noor – (intone) laptop/sample-based composition from an excellent Tokyo-based composer, NOT JAZZ, NOW $4

I also read a lot of the Clair Bee books. Another youth "sports author" I really liked was John R. Tunis; I used to devour both those authors' stuff in the jr. high school library (never had to check them out; usually finished a book in one sitting). I learned to read very early (parents were students and I must have taught myself to some degree), became a super-fast reader, and never read any of the beginner "Dick and Jane"-type stuff. Consequently, my first years in school bored me absolutely out of my skull... I used to read voluminously, all kinds of books. Somebody above mentioned the Horatio Hornblowers, and I read 'em all, too. Also the "Tarzan" books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. One of the earliest "adult-oriented" books I read was Claude Williams' "Manchild in the Promised Land," about growing up in Harlem (I thought it was great, but one never seems to hear about it any more). Whole bunches of detective stories, e.g. Agatha Christie and Dick Francis. Moralistic American authors like Sinclair Lewis, Theodore Dreiser and Upton Sinclair were big favorites. Loved "Studs Lonigan" by James T. Farrell...I could ramble on for a long time.

Have 'em both and like 'em (big fan of "Bebop Revisited," too, my favorite track being Fats Navarro's "Nostalgia"). Just listened to "Live at the Five Spot," in fact. Recommend both if you like the lineup with Barry Harris. "Live at the Five Spot" took me a few listens to get used to: some of the tunes are played at unusually slow tempos, and Lonnie Hillyer is a "different" kind of trumpeter, who isn't technically proficient (at all), but plays a lot of interesting ideas. Another (older boppish) album worth looking for (although McPherson is the only horn) is "Beautiful!," an all-standards set on Xanadu with Duke Jordan, Leroy Williams and Sam Jones (the latter two frequent associates of Barry Harris).

What do people generally think about Aimard in the "mainstream repertory?" I've heard a moderate amount of his recordings of contemporary music, and have high regard for his playing. But I haven't heard any of his recent mainstream efforts, because I didn't expect him to be as good with the "standard" material.

I've suggested that solution in another old thread. I've used cheap old CD and DVD players as transports for a long time. Coaxial digital output seems to be regarded more highly than optical, but both have worked fine for me. Currently am using a Panasonic DVD changer w. optical digital output as a transport.

Don Imus Sumi Jo Amon Simutowe

Fully agreed. Classical record collecting can be outrageously expensive (imagine collecting Ring cycles, for instance...here I've heard Levine and Solti, and prefer Solti, the one I first heard, despite some misgivings about his conducting). Since I very rarely buy multiple recordings of classical works, I'm reluctant to recommend particular recordings (though I'll occasionally do so for contemporary music). Also, having spent some time reading r.m.c.r. (I hardly ever look at Usenet any longer, as the trolls and kooks are too tiresome), I got the impression that collectors of multiple versions often prefer very individualistic interpretations/readings, while I, intending to stick with only one recording, am often perfectly happy with a "foursquare" or "middle-of-the-road" interpretation.

This movement has previously surfaced, but was unsuccessful. Ironically, the "Chess as Olympic Sport" campaign encountered bitter resistance from many chessplayers, who balked at the stringent IOC/WADA drug-testing regimen (relatively moderate doses of caffeine, for instance, would be verboten). A lot of chessplayers are nonconformists (no shit, Sherlock!), and vehemently opposed to bureaucratic testing. And there were serious cost implications: for instance, American FIDE- [international chess federation] rated tournaments would have been required to conduct costly dope testing, which organizers couldn't be expected to afford.

I can't believe people missed out on this -- Chess-Boxing! http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1821639,00.html Not to get too Veblenesque, but a society that comes up with things like this, or paying people to play video games, or snowboard (and now off-road unicycling!) just doesn't have its priorities in order. I'm very familiar with the "chessboxing" stories, as is Conn (and various other chess enthusiast posters who follow the Chessbase site). It's always been clear to me that chessboxing is essentially an extravagant (I can't come up with the right quasi-synonym for "degenerate" that I've been searching for) performance art spectacle cooked up for jaded urbanites. There's a large element of tongue-in-cheek to the Chessbase coverage.

I'm not going to get into the "is chess a sport?" debate, but will say that, in addition to a certain aggression/competitiveness, competitive chess requires serious mental and physical stamina. Some tournament games can take as long as seven hours, and the intense thought and pressure over such a long time is incredibly stressful. I occasionally play offhand in a chess club, and although I'm in good physical condition, I really run out of gas (mentally and physically) after only about two hours of chess!

Thanks, but this story has been out for at least a couple of weeks (it's in my mailbox, dated November 12). Worth reading if you haven't seen it, though.

Little League, Pony League baseball YMCA basketball, soccer, flag football Various youth, intramural (college) and adult recreational hockey leagues Some track, cross-country in Jr. High and HS. Basketball in the one year I attended a small (international overseas) high school, also a (very) little rugby. Occasional intramural/adult softball leagues, though I really don't like the game. Few games in a NYC corporate basketball league (don't dig the game). Never truly had the team sports mentality, though I really enjoyed playing hockey, and participated in it the most of any sport (until just after 40). As I got older, I got into distance running (marathons), and later cycling (recreational only). Now that I'm middle-aged, feeble and nursing a lot of old injuries, I do some yoga to stay flexible and keep weight down (yeah, I know it seems ridiculous, but it's fairly effective and also promotes a healthy diet).

Yeah, MSU should go to a reasonably high-profile bowl. I expect they'll get hammered there [Disclaimer: I'm an alumnus and fan, so I'm being realistic, not bad-mouthing the team], but still a good season, and better than expected.

GA, are any gambling odds available? I haven't been able to find any. [i know nothing about the CFL, but was going to crib a pick based on point spread and over/under lines...]