GA Russell

It's a new world. The Ticats have hired George Cortez as their new head coach, and Bob Young made the announcement on Twitter. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=384486 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/george-cortez-named-tiger-cats-head-coach/article2294967/

I strongly suspect that the bulk of the $12 million price tag was for the land, not the building. She razed the building, but plans to replace it with one more to her liking. Her improvements may indeed make the property more valuable.

I didn't keep track of how the teams qualified for the bowls, but it appears that the two teams in tonight's Cotton Bowl are higher ranked than the teams of the Orange Bowl and the Sugar Bowl, two BCS bowls.

Happy Birthday 2012 ornette!

Barron Miles will be the new defensive backs coach of the Riders. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=384297 ***** Rich Stubler will be the new defensive coordinator of the Lions. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=384323 ***** Here's the post-announcement article on the Burris-Glenn trade. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=384087

Remember "I'm Your Puppet"? Bobby of James and Bobby Purify has passed away. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-passings-20120105,0,2777851.story

Happy Birthday 2012 Nate!

Happy Birthday 2012 mg!

I'm getting a Kobo ad tonight. Is it the same for everybody?

My sympathies, Chuck. I can recommend this. http://www.amazon.com/LifeSmart-LS1500-4-Infrared-Quartz-Heater/dp/B005K8LEAM/ref=sr_1_2?s=appliances&ie=UTF8&qid=1325635043&sr=1-2

Happy Birthday 2012 Marty!

Correct, Jeff! I was looking for a much younger photo, but couldn't find one.

TSN and The Globe & Mail are reporting that the Stamps and the Ticats are close to finalizing a deal that will send Henry Burris to Hamilton for Kevin Glenn. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=384050 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/report-stampeders-deal-qb-henry-burris-to-ti-cats/article2289268/

I guess no one wants to be known and remembered as the guy who fired Dick Clark. Doesn't he have family members who would tell him that it's time to retire? Since 9/11, the Times Square New Year's Eve on all the networks seems to be about the NYPD. I could do without that, as it seems to be an agenda other than celebrating the new year. I started (at 11:50 pm, which is when I turned on the television) to watch the Country New Year's Eve on Fox, but when the host stripped down to his boxer shorts, I knew that I had had enough!

Congratulations!

That's great Allen! Is the list in the mag, or just online?

Happy New Year everyone! My New Year's resolution is to write a book. I've got a lot to learn.

Looks great, TTK!

For a long while I opened up a Charlie Parker cd on New Year's. In recent years it's been a Julie London album. I have a couple of London cd's to choose from on Sunday.

Anybody watch the Alamo Bowl tonight?

Happy Birthday 2011 Tony!

This looks interesting - a trombone organ trio. Are any of you Brits familiar with Rollins? Dennis Rollins’ Velocity Trio: “11th Gate” "This three piece is the latest of many projects by talented trombonist Dennis Rollins, and what a triumph it is. Ross Stanley, on organ, and young Portuguese drummer Pedro Segundo, formed a stonking base on which Rollins could weave his nimble magic." Eastern Daily Press - Norwich, UK October 2010 "Funkily danceable, but with enough subtlety and elegance to reward repeated (seated) listening," – London Jazz, November 2011 For 25 years British trombonist Dennis Rollins has played at the forefront of the UK jazz, funk and pop scene as an ‘impossibly virtuosic’ sideman to such stars as Maceo Parker, Courtney Pine, The Brand New Heavies, Blur, Tom Jones and as an award-winning leader in his own right. Rollins is best known on the British and international jazz scene and is celebrated for his versatility and muscular approach on the trombone. A British musician with Jamaican roots and a top-class jazz/funk pedigree, Rollins’ diverse musical influences are at the heart of his crowd-pleasing compositions, which consistently elicit high praise. Among his accolades are winning the 2006 BBC Jazz 'Best Band' award in 2006, the Parliamentary Jazz Education' Award, and Ronnie Scott's 'Best Trombone' Award. Obviously Rollins is considered a national musical treasure in the UK, and the buzz already surrounding his first international release, The 11th Gate, is setting the stage for him to rise to the rightful place as one of the world’s most formidable performer–leader–composers in his genre. Alongside Rollins in the Velocity Trio are organist Ross Stanley (The Steve Howe Trio, Mark McKnight, Dylan Howe) and the fiery young drummer Pedro Segundo. The three cast a spellbinding sound as a charmed collective of musical prowess and muscular virtuosity that almost telepathically creates refined contemporary jazz arrangements marked by deep simmering grooves, attracting multiple generations of jazz, funk and world music fans. The 'electric' energy of Rollins’ Velocity Trio morphs seamlessly from atmospheric ethereal melodies generated by Rollins’ multi-harmonised horn to cinematic washes of Segundo's cymbals spilling over Stanley's growling organ grooves, to choral gospel riffs in praise of nature's inherent vibrational divinity. The Trio’s collaborative energy illuminates each of The 11th Gate’s eleven tracks. The CD’s opening track,“Samba Galactica,” provides a first taste of the group’s imaginative artistry as they embellish samba rhythms with the interplay of Rollins’ steady trombone and Stanley’s roaring organ. On “Emergence,” Stanley’s organ sets an almost ethereal mood, echoed by Segundo’s mellow touch, laying a smooth foundation over which Rollins can move in to up the intensity. The same level of energy propels “Ujamma,” on which a musical tension builds until it is steadied, supported by the trombone’s slow sombre groove and a swinging drumbeat. On“The Other Side,” Segundo’s rhythmic contributions add a dash of delight, as if to transport listeners to that “other side” for which the track is titled. As Motéma’s first British signing, Rollins brings more than just his charismatic trio to the states. The album’s title, The 11th Gate, is uniquely poised to gain attention due to this year’s widely publicized 11-11-11 phenomenon. Already the subject of a movie and many web posts (clocking millions of views), the date is attributed by some to be ushering in an Age of Aquarius-like shift towards a positive collective consciousness, and by others to be the gateway to the end of the world. Hopefully the latter prophecy will not come true, as The 11th Gate will be released digitally in the US and in both digital and CD formats in the UK and Europe on November 11. The title of the CD also references Rollins’ 47th (4 + 7 = 11) birthday, emphasizing the positive numerical significance of this extraordinary musical leader and his unique musical vision.

Sean Bonniwell, the lead singer of The Music Machine, died Dec. 20. Rock critics treat The Music Machine as an important proto-punk band. Their only hit was Talk, Talk. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-sean-bonniwell-20111229,0,5675254.story