GA Russell

Tommy Mason has died. RIP. He was the last football star Tulane ever had, that I know of. http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2015/01/22/vikings-first-draft-pick-mason-dies/?intcmp=trending

I'm afraid of Judy Tenuta.

Here are a couple of unusual items coming from the Argos. The Argos have hired Jonathan Himebauch to be their offensive line coach and assistant head coach. I find that odd. "Offensive line coach" doesn't sound very high up on the ladder, but "assistant head coach" sounds very high up. Any ideas? http://cfl.ca/article/himebauch-joins-argonauts-coaching-staff ***** You know how the league is involved with women's issues like domestic violence and breast cancer. Well an Argos season ticket holder last year objected to the team's involvement with a domestic violence program because he felt that that particular program discriminates against men. So the Argos refused to renew his season tickets. So now he has filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. To be continued. http://www.tsn.ca/talent/argos-face-human-rights-complaint-over-alleged-threat-to-cancel-customer-s-season-tickets-1.191884 ***** Here is an article discussing the league's policy regarding custody of game balls, in light of the NFL under-inflated footballs controversy. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl-nfl-have-similar-protocol-regarding-inflation-of-their-footballs-1.192185

Alabama announced Saturday that Lane Kiffin will return to Alabama this year as its OC. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/lane-kiffin-returning-to-alabama-in-2015-201632996.html

Comparable to The Great Les Baxer? TTK, I bet that you, of anyone, can tell me who it was who said, "The Les Baxter the better!"

Nowadays, you don't see a trade of a star for a star very often (in any league). So I was surprised to see that the Argos have traded Shea Emry to the Riders for Ricky Foley. http://cfl.ca/article/returning-home-riders-trade-foley-back-to-toronto http://www.tsn.ca/argonauts-acquire-star-de-foley-from-roughriders-for-lb-emry-1.190931 ***** New Orleans has signed Delvin Breaux. http://www.tsn.ca/report-former-tiger-cats-cb-breaux-reaches-agreement-with-saints-1.190919

I saw Gene Clark in Atlanta, not too long before he died, I guess in the late '80s. He was touring with a group called The Byrds, but it was just him and four other guys. He sang lead. It was all Byrds songs. I'm glad to have been able to see him, but I can't say that I was all that impressed. There wasn't anything bad about the show; it just wasn't that big a deal.

Michael, I believe you are right. It's been decades since I have seen it, but your examples seem to me to have much more silver than I recall.

RIP. I very much enjoyed Phaedra back in '75, but as I recall my copy had a different cover than Michael's. http://www.inquisitr.com/1782848/rip-edgar-froese-music-surrealism-legend-of-grand-theft-auto-5-soundtrack-fame-videos/

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2015/01/23/chicago-cubs-legend-ernie-banks-has-died-at-83/ RIP.

I can't disbelieve 26 women. However, I have to feel that something is up, something is coordinated by somebody, when the press gives them credibility now when it didn't then. When this started making headlines, one woman said, "How come nobody believed me thirty years ago?" I feel that the truth is closer to...Why was this covered up then, but not now? Or...Why is it no longer being covered up?

I don't have an opinion specifically about the Patriots, the under-inflated footballs or who is to blame. But I have a couple of thoughts that are more universal in scope. 1) If a team is found to have deliberately broken a rule, the penalty should be forfeiture of the game. If forfeiture seems too harsh, maybe that rule shouldn't exist. 2) I think the wrong people are required to take the fall. I don't believe in suspensions. I believe in expulsion. And I feel that the first person to be considered for expulsion should often be the team owner.

I've never heard the "in Tokyo" album, but from what I have read about it over the years, it seems like all the critics agree that it was his best post-1970 album. It has been out of print for a long time, and the asking prices for new copies on Amazon have been three digits. Perhaps you are aware that the "Chet Baker Estate" is releasing some of his albums as CD-Rs. I was first made aware of the three Prestige CDs. Now I see that "in Tokyo" is available, split as Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. $9.98 each, both with AutoRip. http://www.amazon.com/Chet-Baker-Tokyo-Vol-1/dp/B00ODF58T6/ref=pd_bxgy_m_text_y http://www.amazon.com/Chet-Baker-Tokyo-Vol-2/dp/B00ODF59CW/ref=pd_bxgy_m_text_y

As expected, George Cortez has signed on with BC to be Jeff Tedford's OC. http://cfl.ca/article/cortez-headlines-tedfords-new-look-coaching-staff http://www.tsn.ca/tedford-rounds-out-lions-coaching-staff-with-old-friend-cortez-1.189278 ***** The Bombers have released Ian Wild so that he can sign an NFL contract. http://www.tsn.ca/blue-bombers-release-wild-so-he-can-sign-nfl-deal-1.189541 ***** The union has published an article about the four men their awards are named after. I had the pleasure of meeting Jake Gaudaur and Annis Stukus. https://cflpa.com/history-of-the-cfl-specialty-awards/

Phil, I learned just recently that "canola" is merely a word coined by marketers for a variety of rapeseed! The CAN stands for Canada, which is where the rapeseed is grown (and where, at the Univ. of Manitoba, the variety was developed). OLA stands for "oil, low acid." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canola

Am I correct in thinking that Burt Bacharach's Butch Cassidy soundtrack vocals were based on the Swingle Singers sound?

I'm not sure that I agree with that statement. I would say that most standards played by jazz musicians were popular songs of the '40s. Of course, that included Broadway songs, but I wouldn't say that the plays and movies provided most of them. Just my speculation, of course.

I now see that the album I was referring to was called Mood Swings. The record label was called a capella. http://www.amazon.com/Mood-Swings-Swingle-Singers/dp/B0000E1WN7/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421962870&sr=8-1&keywords=swingle+singers+mood+swings

Justin, thanks for telling me about Goodsearch. I'll take a look at it. In regard to Bing, the link takes me to the Bing Rewards page. At the upper right, there is a link called "Back to Bing." The Back to Bing link takes me to two news aggregators. Although some of those items are regarding trivial pop culture and starlets, most are interesting news items that I often see on other news websites the following day. So by daily looking at "Back to Bing," I often get some news a day before other people.

I now see that there are similar deals for Analog and Asimov magazines. 8-pack for $6.95, and 12 double-issues for $15.95. I'd bet the ranch that the MY25 discount code is good for these too. http://www.analogsf.com/order/order.aspx

I like her because I think her heart's in the right place.

I checked today, and there are two offers. I placed an order for both. 1) EQ and AH Mystery Value Pack - 8...$5.95 for 8 issues 2) Mystery Double Issue 12 pack...$15.95 for 12 double-issues http://www.themysteryplace.com/order/order_ahmm.aspx Both prices do not include shipping. However, they have a special through Jan. 26: 25% off with the code MY25 The 25% discount is very close to the shipping cost. ***** This same code (MY25) is also good for the Penny Dell puzzle mags. I had great luck giving them as Christmas presents, so I have ordered more for next Christmas. http://www.pennydellpuzzles.com/

This promotion is still going on. Yesterday I received my 15th payment of $5, making a total of $75. Bing is throttling me a little bit now, so that they are now paying me $5 once every four weeks.

Does no one have an appreciation for appearances? Here is an article that says that A Rod is training with Barry Bonds! http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/barry-bonds-is-mentoring-alex-rodriguez/ar-AA8pypM?ocid=anssbnation11

You might enjoy this Ticat fan's twitter avatar. https://twitter.com/Ticatsfan1 ***** Brandon Browner joined New England this year after three years with Seattle. So now he gets to face his old team in the Super Bowl. Here he comments on the deflated balls issue. http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/01/brandon-browner-points-out-the-patriots-would-have-crushed-the-colts-regardless ***** The Eskimos have released Hugh O'Neill. I don't know how many Edmonton fans will miss his performance, but I think that all of them will miss his beard! http://www.tsn.ca/eskimos-release-kicker-punter-o-neill-1.188339