GA Russell

Happy Birthday 2013 crisp!

Happy Birthday 2013 felser!

Happy Birthday 2013 Brooks!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Speaking of which, today is the birthday of Anders Celsius, born 1701! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celsius,_Anders ***** The Eskimos have named Argos defensive coordinator Chris Jones as their new head coach. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=437624 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4643707 http://cfl.ca/article/esks-tab-chris-jones-as-new-head-coach ***** Jacques Chapdelaine is leaving the Lions. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=437644 http://cfl.ca/article/mututal-decision-lions-chapdelaine-part-ways ***** Herb Zurkowski is reporting that the Als have approached Paul LaPolice about becoming their next offensive coordinator. I find this odd because the Als have not named their new head coach. Could this mean that Jim Popp is staying on? http://www.canada.com/sports/football/cfl/Alouettes+contact+Paul+LaPolice+about/9216358/story.html ***** The RedBlacks have signed their first three free agents. http://cfl.ca/article/a-day-of-firsts-ottawa-signs-first-three-free-agents ***** Here are the rules for the upcoming Ottawa expansion draft. http://cfl.ca/ottawa#ExpansionDraft2013

Perhaps I have mentioned that I enjoy taking surveys. One group I have been dealing with for a few months now is working with The UPS Store, which is promoting itself as a specialist for small businessmen. Twice a month they ask you to give your opinion of one of their ideas, and once a month they have a chat (usually with an expert) regarding an aspect of doing business, such as promoting your business on the internet. As compensation, they give you $20-$30 a month in Amazon gift cards. They are now looking for some new people, so if this sounds appealling to you, you are welcome to go here: http://smallbizbuzz.me/?registrationCod ... 27964a855d

dgs, don't forget to pm me your name and address so I can get your prize out to you! ss1, I hope you like your prize!

The Roughriders held their parade today. http://cfl.ca/article/riders-parade-grey-cup-through-streets-of-regina http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=437567 ***** The Als have announced that Mike Miller, who joined the team as Dan Hawkins' offensive coordinator, will not be back. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=437481 ***** Henoc Muamba will spend the winter trying out for NFL teams. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=437560 ***** The Bombers have officially named Kyle Walters as their GM. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=437551 ***** Riders championship souvenirs are now available. http://www.cflshop.ca/all-products/browse/keyword/gcc13

Medic (44 episodes) - $14.75 http://www.amazon.com/MEDIC-Episodes-Groundbreaking-Hospital-Series/dp/B005MRN3L4/ref=pd_ys_sf_s_2644980011_b1_35_p?ie=UTF8&refRID=1XKS587QPCGZX0QWJ0WS

I think we'll all agree that these folks did pretty well, unless they are in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or something. http://www.buzzfeed.com/robinedds/its-thanksgiving-so-we-asked-some-brits-to-label-the-us-stat

The Wall Street Journal has an article about the CFL in this morning's issue. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304607104579210390697498978

This might be interesting. CAVA MENZIES & NICK PHILLIPS Present MOMENT TO MOMENT A Mesmerizing Album of Jazz Ballads AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE JANUARY 21, 2014 THE CD RELEASE CELEBRATION WILL BE HELD AT YOSHI'S OAKLAND ON FEBRUARY 17, 2014 AT 8 PM http://www.yoshis.com/oakland/jazzclub/artist/show/3988 New York, November 26, 2013 - Ballads reign on Moment To Moment on the extraordinarily self-possessed new album by pianist Cava Menzies and trumpeter Nick Phillips. But this recording is much more than just a "ballads album." Many artists have produced albums filled with love songs and torch tunes at slow tempos; they're designed to pull at the heartstrings, or turn up the nostalgia, or to highlight the introspective phrasemaking that ballads allow. But very few succeed at also doing what this album accomplishes. It creates a cocoon of space around the listener. It lowers the blood pressure; it slows the heartbeat; it seems to slow time itself. (If it weren't so supremely musical, you might consider marketing it as a medical device.) On Moment To Moment, Menzies and Phillips locate their music very much in the present - in that space, Menzies explains, "where you have a moment to breathe." And they transport their listeners to a place where each of those moments really counts. "We've done all sorts of material in our gigs together," Menzies points out, "but the ballads really brought out something special in our playing - a gentleness. At a house concert we did about a year before the recording, we played a duo version of 'You Don't Know What Love Is,' and at the end we were both weeping. It was so powerful emotionally; we feed off each other's energy when we play, and we wanted to just go deeper and deeper." In repertoire drawn primarily from the jazz catalog as well as the Great American Songbook, Menzies and Phillips - joined by the tastefully simpatico rhythm team of bassist Jeff Chambers and drummer Jaz Sawyer - go far beneath the surface of the melody lines and chord changes. Their improvisations have a quiet wakefulness, a deceptive simplicity that reveals a carefully constructed, unassuming majesty. Together, they follow the advice of Miles Davis in not only knowing what to play but also, more important, what to leave out. And their instrumental lines dovetail with an ease that would normally bespeak years of collaboration. Which makes it all the more surprising that Menzies and Phillips first met in July, 2012; their partnership is still in its infancy, and this album represents their recording debut as a collaborative duo. "I had this regular restaurant gig," Menzies recalls, "and our vocalist couldn't make it one night. The bassist recommended Nick, and we just had this magical musical chemistry. The more gigs we did together, the more we realized that we had so much in common." Adds Phillips: "In that first meeting, it was surprising to me how instantly compatible Cava and I were musically. The subtle nuances, the phrasing, the way we both leave space in our playing to let the music breathe - it was all there." Equally shocking, to Menzies, was the revelation that Phillips had essentially stopped playing the trumpet in the years leading up to their introduction. "I've been a performing musician on the side throughout much of my career, but I really had to put that on the back burner for a while, given the demands of my day job," Phillips explains. Menzies remembers thinking that Phillips must be a busy working musician, given what she was hearing on stage. "So I was shocked when we chatted after the gig and he told me that he had put the trumpet aside. I started urging him to play more - to use this incredible gift he has, this incredible sound. It's been beautiful to watch it develop." Neither Menzies nor Phillips makes a living through performance, but they each make a living in music. As a longtime staff producer and Vice President at Concord Music Group, Phillips has worked on hundreds of albums - by noted artists ranging from Karrin Allyson to Poncho Sanchez to Gary Burton - and overseen the label's acclaimed jazz reissue program, where his personal involvement has elevated collections of work by such giants as Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, and Thelonious Monk. Menzies teaches music to kids in grades 6 through 12 at the Oakland (CA) School for the Arts, where she chairs the vocal department and conducts the school choirs; what's more, she can lean on a rich family history. Her grandmother danced at the legendary Cotton Club in New York (the home of Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway); her mother is a classically trained flutist; and Menzies' father, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, was a founding member of the legendary Herbie Hancock Sextet in the late 1960s, and has recorded nearly two dozen albums under his own name. For both artists, their "day jobs" strongly inform their music. "I think this project benefited from my experience as a record producer. That requires not only making the right choices to ensure the highest sound quality, but also knowing how to create a relaxed, comfortable recording environment for musicians, to allow the music to flow effortlessly," Phillips says. "I had the rare experience of working with some of the greatest living jazz artists on their recording projects, and also spending countless hours listening and digging deeply into recordings by some of the most important artists in the history of the music. It's all made for a lifetime's worth of profound musical lessons that are deep in my DNA." His work at Concord left little time to pursue performance engagements. "But when I played that first gig with Cava, I knew right there and then that I had to make my trumpet playing a bigger priority." For Cava, teaching singers has had a significant impact on her own instrumental work. "I sang a lot when I was younger," she explains, before choosing to focus on the piano in her mid-20s. "And I think that what I coach in vocalists informs my playing, in terms of letting the emotions out. It's the lyrical element. The program [at OSA] is famous for producing great musicians, but our signature is the stage presence and emotional quality of these performers. So while I really care about my touch at the piano, I'm also concerned with the energy behind the phrases. It's about sincerity and authenticity in your delivery: how honest and vulnerable can you get up there?" Quite a lot, if Moment To Moment is any indication. "It's a very, very moody album," Menzies remarks. "Not in a negative way, but 'moody' in that it's the type of album where you sit and reflect on life. There are moments in which it plays with both dark and light. It's moody in that way, and it really tries to capture the range of human emotion - the emotion that you feel just moving through life." TRACKS 1. The Peacocks (Jimmy Rowles) 2. Mal's Moon (Cava Lee Menzies) 3. For All We Know (Fred Coots, Samuel Lewis) 4. You (Nick Phillips, Clifford Goldmacher) 5. You Don't Know What Love Is (Don Raye, Gene DePaul) 6. Almost Blue (Elvis Costello) 7. Phantoms (Kenny Barron) 8. Speak Low (Kurt Weill, Ogden Nash) Recorded, mixed, and mastered entirely in native 24-bit/192kHz high-resolution digital. www.CavaMenziesNickPhillips.com

RIP, Chico. I remember in 1966 when I was in high school and starting to learn about jazz. Chico's impulse! records were among the few jazz albums that I might see in the record shops. I'm thinking of The Dealer and Chic, Chic, Chico.

TSN reports that this was the fourth most watched Grey cup ever, with one in three Canadians watching part of it. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=437512 ***** Grey Cup box score http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/scores/boxscore/?id=1315279 ***** Grey Cup highlights videos http://www.tsn.ca/videohub/?collection=72&show=134784 http://cfl.ca/video/index/id/93525/autostart/true

Grey Cup Saskatchewan Roughriders 45...Hamilton Tiger-Cats 23 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=437442 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4642997 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/grey-cup-101-underway-in-regina/article15578648/ http://www.canada.com/sports/football/cfl/Roughriders+Grey+with+galleries/9207694/story.html http://www.winnipegsun.com/2013/11/24/roughriders-crush-tiger-cats-to-win-grey-cup-at-home Well, they can't all be good. The Riders thoroughly dominated the game, and proved that they were the better team. The Super Bowl will be played outdoors in New York in February this year, and it is very possible that for the first time ever, the Super Bowl will be colder than the Grey Cup. Kory Sheets rushed for 197 yards, a Grey Cup record, and was named the game's MVP. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/teams/story/?id=437459&hubname=cfl-roughriders

Saskatchewan Roughriders 45....Hamtilton Tiger-Cats 23 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=437442 Congratulations danasgoodstuff! Not only did your beloved Riders win, but you won the contest as well! PM me your address, and I will have Mosaic send you a gift card promptly! Thanks for playing everyone!

I'm listening to the radio broadcast at the link in the OP, and contrary to everything that I have read, the announcers are saying that the kickoff will be 6:30 pm. So we will make the cutoff for this contest to be the kickoff time, whenever it is. I am going to head out now to the sports bar across the street. Everyone is welcome to post his thoughts as the game progresses. Good luck everyone!

CFL.ca Grey Cup game notes http://www.cfl.ca/article/2013-cflca-game-notes-101st-grey-cup-edition ***** long list of CFL.ca Grey Cup articles http://cfl.ca/article/preview-the-101st-grey-cup-championship ***** Laval beat Calgary yesterday 25-14 to win the Vanier Cup. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/laval-holds-off-dinos-to-capture-second-straight-vanier-cup/article15576890/ ***** Toronto Sun Grey Cup analysis by positions http://www.torontosun.com/2013/11/23/grey-cup-2013-breaking-down-the-positions

BeBop, I'm saddened to learn of this. I'll say a prayer for Lisa tonight.

Sixty years ago, Schlitz was the #2 beer in America, behind only Bud. Then they started fooling with the recipe.

Jeff, I'm still waiting for your address! I've never received your pm's, which I don't understand. Email me at garussell2001 at hotmail dot com, and I'll order it for you tomorrow. Hooray! Jeff, your pm's have been waiting for me all this time, and for some reason they did not pop up alerting me that you had sent them. Because you have waited so long, I have ordered a second prize for you. Your prizes will arrive Nov. 22 and Nov. 25. Jeff, I have received word that both of your prizes were shipped together; and that they will arrive on the 22nd, the day after tomorrow. Jeff, FedEx says... "Latest Event: Tucson AZ Package arrived at a carrier facility - November 22, 2013 5:41:00 PM"

Last night the Hall of Fame announced its 2014 inductees: Wally Buono Ben Cahoon Moe Racine Charles Roberts Uzooma Okeke Neil Lumsden (university) Larry Haylor (university/builder) http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=437290 ***** Rachel Brady: Five Grey Cup matchups. (and a long list of Globe Grey Cup articles) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/five-things-to-watch-at-the-grey-cup/article15575947/ ***** Bleacher Report Grey Cup pick http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1859431-saskatchewan-roughriders-will-win-the-101st-grey-cup ***** CFL.ca writers Grey Cup picks http://cfl.ca/page/cflca-writers-make-their-101st-grey-cup-predictions ***** Here's a long list of Grey Cup articles. http://www.canada.com/sports/football/cfl/index.html

Melrose Place: Complete First Season - $9.99 http://www.amazon.com/Melrose-Place-Complete-First-Season/dp/B000H7JCGE/ref=pd_cp_mov_1

So here we are three and a half years later, and I thought that I would look to see if this deal is still available to give as Christmas presents. The current deal is different: 8 mags for $5.95, plus $3.75 shipping. So that's 8 mags for $9.70, or $1.21 each.

Thanks mjazzg! I noticed that one of the reviewers of your suggestion recommended the Microsoft. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J4WPW8/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=RVSBV717YT9&coliid=I2FJCRM3HPUSVI http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00906E03I/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=RVSBV717YT9&coliid=IG0VHCG8QH17O Apparently none of the headsets lasts very long, but these Microsoft ones have highly respected microphones.