GA Russell

Evan, Moose already has Hamilton and 45. Try again!

I have purchased the Dragon software program to enable me to dictate to my computer. Now I need to buy a microphone to use with it. I suppose I need one whose pickup is of sufficient quality that the software will correctly understand what I am saying. Any suggestions, especially from experience? The ones I see at Amazon have reviews which typically discuss their use with skype, which I'm not sure is relevant. Thanks!

I've been enjoying Live at the Winery. Not only is Art in fine form, but also it's not his usual band - so it sounds different from Laurie's other releases.

Tenor Saxophonist/Composer Anton Schwartz To Release "Flash Mob" January 28 Fifth CD for His Antonjazz Label (And First Since 2006) Features Taylor Eigsti, Dominick Farinacci, John Shifflett, Lorca Hart West Coast Tour Dates Set for March 2014; East Coast Dates to Follow November 19, 2013 With Flash Mob, his first new recording in seven years, the expressive and swinging tenor saxophonist/composer Anton Schwartz delivers a disc notable for its well-crafted tunes, riveting ensemble work, and abundance of attitude. Schwartz's Antonjazz label will release the CD, his fifth since his 1998 debut When Music Calls and first since 2006's Top 5 radio staple Radiant Blue, on January 28. An audiophile recording, Flash Mob is available as a standard CD and also from HDtracks in high-resolution 96kHz 24-bit digital. Presenting a diverse program of original tunes, plus one each by Kenny Dorham and Thelonious Monk, Schwartz is joined by a superlative cast including Grammy Award-nominated pianist Taylor Eigsti, rising Bay Area drum star Lorca Hart, big-toned New York trumpeter Dominick Farinacci, and the imperturbably grooving South Bay bassist John Shifflett (who has anchored just about all of Schwartz's recordings). As usual, the saxophonist creates unabashedly appealing music that bristles with intriguing ideas, unbridled energy, and unexpected rhythmic juxtapositions. "I always aim to write the music I'd like to hear," says Schwartz, who for the last three years has divided his time between Seattle and Oakland. "A lot of great music out there doesn't hold my attention the way Stevie Wonder does. I like music that goes someplace. I write for my own impoverished attention span, and it seems to serve me well." The drummer and longtime jazz radio personality Bud Spangler, who's co-produced all of Schwartz's albums, including Flash Mob, is not surprised that Schwartz's music has found a national audience, noting his gift for crafting "catchy compositions. They grab you and stay with you. He works really hard, and he's swinging his butt off." One reason that Schwartz sounds more lyrical than ever is that he's keeping company with some of jazz's most accomplished vocalists. He plays a key role on Ed Reed's 2011 album Born to Be Blue and his well-received new release I'm A Shy Guy, serving as a thoughtful foil to the late-blooming octogenarian balladeer. He's worked extensively with the crystalline improviser Inga Swearingen, collaborated with many others such as Judy Wexler and young phenom Laila Smith, and, since moving to Seattle, has forged potent ties with the supremely soulful vocalist Gail Pettis and the highly versatile Greta Matassa. The native Manhattanite (b. 1967) caught the jazz bug early and as a teenager studied with the brilliant but oft-overlooked tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh and the renowned clarinetist Eddie Daniels. Schwartz went on to study math and philosophy at Harvard University, though he found time to play in the school's jazz band, holding down the first tenor saxophone chair after tenorman Don Braden, in a section that included future jazz star Joshua Redman. Schwartz moved to the Bay Area in 1989 and had nearly completed a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence at Stanford when he decided to forgo the degree and devote himself to music full time. An active teacher, Schwartz maintains a strong presence in both Seattle and the Bay Area, mentoring jazz ensembles and private students in both regions. He has been Artist in Residence at Harvard University and the Brubeck Institute Summer Jazz Colony and is a dedicated clinician, giving frequent master classes and workshops on an impressive range of subjects, from advanced music theory to the physics of woodwind instruments, to the fine details of swing and phrasing, to the business of music. "It's such a fun challenge to get inside another musician's head, figure out how they understand things, and help build them a ladder that will take them to where they want to go," says Schwartz. "Each time I make an album, the writing and the execution get more and more fun for me, as the process of creating and realizing a vision becomes more and more fluid. It's been a heck of a journey, refining my musical craft over the years -- and amazingly rewarding. To be able to help others along their journey too is doubly gratifying." Anton Schwartz: "Pangur Ban," recorded in performance at Yoshi's, Oakland. Schwartz will be working the following dates with his quintet in support of Flash Mob (East Coast dates are being planned for the spring): 3/1 San Jose Jazz Winterfest 3/1 Pacifica Performances 3/2 Sonoma Jazz Society 3/4 Yoshi's, Oakland 3/6 Kuumbwa, Santa Cruz 3/7 Vitello's, Los Angeles 3/9 JB's, Sacramento 3/11 KPLU in-studio performance, Seattle 3/11-3/12 Jazz Alley, Seattle 3/13 The Cellar, Vancouver BC 3/14 Ivories, Portland Web Site: antonjazz.com/new-cd

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.

I find the results of this poll quite surprising. It says that only 9% have a drink nearly every day, while 36% rarely or never drink. Perhaps growing up in New Orleans skewed my view of America! http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/november_2013/38_drink_alcohol_at_least_once_a_week

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.

This is a scary article which says that if a woman uses the birth control pill for three years or more, she may have twice the likelihood of going blind from glaucoma later in life. I say this is scary because I'm confident that a great many American women have already used it for three consecutive years. http://healthland.time.com/2013/11/18/prolonged-use-of-birth-control-pill-linked-to-glaucoma/

Thanks, John! I figured I could look it up, but I knew that you, dgs and BClug would know! ***** Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald is reporting that Dave Dickenson will become the Stamps' assistant head coach next year. http://www.canada.com/sports/football/cfl/Hall+Dave+Dickenson+stay+with+Calgary/9182141/story.html

Penguin Cafe Orchestra - History - $13.49 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0055WXX66/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ***** Otis Redding - Original Album Series, vol. 2 - $13.50 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DDVPXXC/ref=ox_ya_os_product

Life: Season One - $7.79 http://www.amazon.com/Life-Season-One-Adam-Arkin/dp/B0019Z3P84/ref=pd_ys_sf_s_2644980011_a1_55_p?ie=UTF8&refRID=1G71JVDXC3DQ12PZMWVX ***** Alphas: Season One - $7.39 http://www.amazon.com/Alphas-Season-One-David-Strathairn/dp/B0081QF6Q8/ref=pd_ys_sf_s_2644980011_a1_62_p?ie=UTF8&refRID=1G71JVDXC3DQ12PZMWVX

Toronto mayor Rob Ford attended the Eastern Final. The league had asked him not to come! http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/11/17/embattled-toronto-mayor-ford-ignores-request-to-stay-away-from-canadian/?intcmp=obinsite ***** Eastern Final highlights video http://cfl.ca/video/index/id/93041 ***** Western Final highlights video http://cfl.ca/video/index/id/93081 ***** Grey Cup match-ups (I disagree that Sask has the QB advantage.) http://cfl.ca/page/101st-grey-cup-centre

By the way, the temperature in Calgary for today's game was minus 19 Celsius. Anybody know what that is in Fahrenheit? ***** The annual Grey Cup contest is now up. Go play! Good luck everyone!

It's that time of year again! It's time for the annual Grey Cup contest. (Past winners have included Noj (twice), indestructible, Bright Moments, brownie, paul secor and soulstation1.) Here are the rules: 1) Pick the winning team. 2) Pick the number of total points scored by both teams (aka the tiebreaker). Since approximately half of us will pick the winning team, picking the total points is necessary to win the contest. Your total points prediction must be a number which is a multiple of five (5). The winning tiebreaker will be the one closest to the correct answer. If two are equally close, the winner will be the lower pick. If two people pick the same thing, the first to make the pick will be the winner. THE PRIZE: A $17.00 Mosaic Records Gift Card. The $17.00 represents one CD of a Mosaic box set. Deadline: kickoff, Sunday Nov. 24, 6:00 pm eastern. ***** The Grey Cup game: The Grey Cup is awarded to the world champion of what I think is the greatest game in the world, Canadian rules football. That is to say, the champion of the Canadian Football League. The Grey Cup was first awarded in 1909. They have played for it every year since then except three years during World War One. Therefore, this year's will be the 101st Grey Cup game. Fans from throughout Canada will attend the game. This year's game will see the Western champion Saskatchewan Roughriders host the Eastern champion Hamilton Tiger-Cats. This is a surprise because both teams finished second during the regular season, and had to defeat the first place team on the road to win their division championships. The Hamilton Tigers were founded in 1869, the same year as the Cincinnati Red Stockings. The Saskatchewan Roughriders were founded in 1910, and are a mere 103 years old. The location of the game is chosen years in advance. This year's game will be played in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan fans are considered the best in the league. In addition, the Riders are the most popular team in the league because they are everybody's second favorite team. The Riders will clearly enjoy a home field advantage. The Riders are without question the better of the two teams. I think that all but one of their losses occurred when their star running back Kory Sheets was on the injured list. On the other hand, Hamilton's quarterback Henry Burris led the league in passing again this year, and is no doubt a better quarterback than Saskatchewan's Darian Durant. Burris went to Temple. Durant went to UNC. The game will be carried live on the NBC Sports cable TV channel. You can listen to the game here: http://www.tsn.ca/Toronto/ (To listen to the game, you will need Windows Media Player which you can download for free. So you might want to plan ahead if you don't already have it.) You can study articles analyzing the upcoming game as well as articles about the season as it unfolded in the CFL thread, which I will be updating during the course of this week. Good luck everyone! Here's my pick: Saskatchewan - 50 It's very hard to pick against Henry Burris, but I think that the Riders' home field advantage will make the difference.

In both the CFL and in the NFL, it is legal to tackle a man by the hair. I have long thought that if I were a coach, I would require the guys to either get a haircut or tuck their hair up inside their helmets, so as not to give the opponent an extra handle to grab. Here is an article about an NFL player who tackled a man by the hair today, and in the process came up with a handful of hair. http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/11/jason-babin-dreadlocks-andre-ellington/ ***** EASTERN FINAL Hamilton Tiger-Cats 36....Toronto Argonauts 24 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4640892 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=436850 The Argos had a 24-10 lead in the second quarter, and led at the half 24-17. In the second half, it seemed like the Argos never had the ball. Their time of possession in the fourth quarter was about 2:45. Don't be fooled by the final score. On the last play of the game, the Ticats led 30-24. The Argos had one final play. Attempting to keep the ball alive, they lateralled. Hamilton recovered the lateral and ran it in for the touchdown. ***** WESTERN FINAL Saskatchewan Roughriders 35....Calgary Stampeders 13 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4640925 http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=436860 The Stamps were never in it. Huf replaced Kevin Glenn at halftime with Drew Tate, but he wasn't able to do much. ***** For the third year in a row, the team of the host city of the Grey Cup will play in it. The home team won the past two games. This time it's the Riders' turn. This will be the first time the Riders have met the Ticats in the Grey Cup since 1989. Of course many people consider that game to be one of the best Grey Cups ever.

Yes! I read not long ago that Wynton's salary from JALC is $1 million per year.

Finals status report http://cfl.ca/article/status-report-whos-in-and-whos-out-for-sunday-20131116022107 Both first place teams will be missing some very important people due to injuries. I think that both second place teams have a real chance to win. ***** Finals game notes http://cfl.ca/article/2013-cflca-game-notes-division-finals-edition

Mike McCormack has died. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/16/sports/football/mike-mccormack-hall-of-fame-browns-lineman-dies-at-83.html?_r=0

Toronto mayor Rob Ford is under fire. He appeared yesterday at City Hall wearing an Argos jersey. A large photo of this, with "the Toronto Argonauts" mentioned by name, appears in this morning's Wall Street Journal on page A16. Here's a photo from the Breitbart web page. http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2013/11/15/Toronto-councilors-look-to-strip-mayor-of-powers Naturally, the Argos don't want to be identified with him, and they issued a statement distancing themselves. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=436597 ***** Next week is Grey Cup Week, and TSN will show three Grey Cup games per night Monday through Friday on their ESPN Classic channel. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=436701 ***** CFL.ca writers Finals picks http://cfl.ca/page/cflca-writers-make-their-division-final-predictions

Here's a report of Canadian doctors who studied the brains of six deceased CFL players to determine if multiple concussions lead to CTE. The finding was that three of the six did not have CTE, so I guess multiple concussions do not guarantee CTE. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23745112

This says that that report was bogus - CTE cannot be determined for the living, only via an autopsy. http://newsbusters.org/blogs/randy-hall/2013/11/14/espn-sports-reporters-fooled-hoax-living-football-players-have-fatal-dis

Wow! Sandy, how did you get that gig? And how will we tell which pages are yours?

Grant Green - The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark - 10.42 GBP http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Quartets-With-Sonny-Clark/dp/B000005H9T/ref=pd_sim_m_h__89 $15.80 with AutoRip http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Quartets-Sonny-Clark-Grant/dp/B000005H9T/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1384395674&sr=1-1&keywords=Grant+green+The+Complete+Quartets+with+Sonny+Clark

The Bombers fired Tim Burke today. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=436518 ***** Greg Xenakes Finals picks http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfl/news/news.aspx?id=4639549 ***** Dan Ralph Finals picks http://www.thestar.com/sports/football/2013/11/13/cfl_picks_defence_likely_to_decide_argosticats_playoff_game.html ***** Chris Schultz Finals picks http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/schultz/

The Baron is down to $9.98!