GA Russell

Disregarding singers, the first two names that come to mind are Geri Allen and Terri Lynn Harrington. I like Renee Rosnes and Eliane Elias, but I haven't heard anything from them that makes me think they are really special.

The CFL will try to do what the NHL does for reviewing questionable calls this year. As I understand it, and this may not be exactly right, all the television replays will be fed to the league headquarters, and quick decisions will be made there and then promptly phoned in to the ref on the field. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/New...748756-sun.html

I agree with ejp that the Kindle is way overpriced. It seems to me that if they want you to pay for the content, they should give you the Kindle for free. "Give 'em the razor, and sell 'em the blade", as they used to say. paps, I don't know what you do with the New York Times, but you might have some insight as to the fundamental issue regarding the financial losses. Is the major problem that advertising revenues are way down right now? Is that a temporary phenomenon (which is probably true for department store ads) or a permanent one (which may be true for classified ads, which apparently have moved over to craigslist)? Or is the problem that people don't want to pay for a newspaper anymore? Is it because of the internet? (I doubt it. Nobody reads every day the number of articles on the internet that he would read in a newspaper.) Is it because fewer people take public transportation, so they aren't reading on the bus anymore? Is it because as the population ages it has become more conservative, and the newspapers are usually liberal? (I see lots of conservative articles/issues posted on digg that never make it to any newspaper I have the opportunity to buy.)

Bret Favre's family has booked 25-30 rooms near Lambeau Field for the weekend of the Nov. 1 Vikings game. Maybe they know something. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/favr...article1174921/

You might find this interesting. This is the second time in two days I have read about the need for Kenton Keith to lose his NFL weight. The NFL gets first pick on all the players because they pay so much more, but NFL players are considered to be 20 pounds overweight for the CFL. That is to say, an NFL player who does not change for the Canadian game will not perform well. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/in-k...article1174238/ ***** The Argos are going to have a weekly TV show. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Tor...735091-sun.html

Happy Birthday Bertrand!

Kenny Rankin died yesterday. I'm very moved by this. He was one of my four favorite singers, along with Mark Murphy, Mose Allison and Paul Jones. I remember seeing and hearing him for the first time in 1974/75 on the late night show The Midnight Special which that week was hosted by Olivia Newton-John (who was the reason I was watching in the first place). I still have one of his albums that I haven't opened yet. I'll have to get to it pronto. Here's his LA Times obituary: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...0,5347669.story Kenny Rankin dies at 69; singer-songwriter's long career almost defied categorization A well-regarded guitarist, he wrote the hit song 'Peaceful' for Helen Reddy and played in Bob Dylan's backup band on the influential 1965 album 'Bringing It All Back Home.' By Jon Thurber 7:27 PM PDT, June 8, 2009 Kenny Rankin, a singer-songwriter and musician whose song "Peaceful" was a hit for Helen Reddy and who had popular covers himself of a pair of Beatles hits, has died. He was 69. Rankin died Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The cause of death, according to his management company, was lung cancer, which was diagnosed three weeks ago. His career, which spanned more than five decades, almost defied categorization. A well-regarded guitarist, he played in Bob Dylan's backup band on the influential 1965 album "Bringing It All Back Home." He also spent several years on the road opening for comedian George Carlin. Rankin appeared on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson more than 25 times. Carson was such a fan that he wrote the liner notes for Rankin's 1967 debut LP, "Mind Dusters." As a singer with a velveteen tenor voice, he had highly successful covers of the Beatles' "Blackbird" and "Penny Lane" in the mid-1970s and in 1976 recorded an LP of standards, "The Kenny Rankin Album," with a large orchestra conducted by Don Costa. In a review of a 2000 Rankin performance at a San Fernando Valley jazz club, critic Don Heckman wrote in The Times: "Rankin has been -- for a decade or more -- a singer whose unusual improvisational skills and innate capacity to deliver a melody with a strong sense of swing stamp him as a consistently appealing jazz artist." In addition to Reddy's version of "Peaceful," jazz singers Carmen McRae and Mel Torme recorded versions of Rankin's and Ruth Batchelor's "Haven't We Met." Rankin was born Feb. 10, 1940, and grew up in the Washington Heights section of New York City. He was signed to Decca Records as a teenager and released a few singles. He later signed with Columbia Records. One of his major influences was Laura Nyro, the late songwriter who wrote "Wedding Bell Blues" and "Stoned Soul Picnic," whom he met in Greenwich Village in 1960. "She profoundly changed my musical life and affected it to this day, more than anyone or anything else," Rankin told the Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto in 2007. "She was deep, dark and light, the spectrum of passion." His peak recording years were in the 1970s, when he released the LPs "Silver Morning," "Inside" and "The Kenny Rankin Album." Paul McCartney was so pleased with Rankin's covers of the Beatles hits, he asked him to sing a medley of them when McCartney was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987. Rankin is survived by his son, Chris; daughters Gena and Chandra; and a granddaughter.

That's great Ken! Let us know how they are. Remember, I haven't heard them!

A day after cutting Ryan Dinwiddie, the Bombers have signed former Ticat Richie Williams. I've always liked him, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him start a few games as the season goes on. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Win...711906-sun.html

Thanks, Niko, for your PM response. ***** Lala: Chet Baker - Stairway to the Stars I had this one in college under the name Comin' On with the Chet Baker Quintet. I have listened to it on Lala before. Apparently if you go a month or so without listening to an album, the Lala computer forgets that you have, and you can listen to it once again for free. Stan Getz - My Foolish Heart: Live at the Left Bank

The Bombers have cut Ryan Dinwiddie! He was expected to be competing for the starting position. http://www.winnipegsun.com/sports/football...06/9700021.html ***** Lots of previews. Montreal Alouettes http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/foot...8143/story.html Hamilton Tiger-Cats http://www.thespec.com/Sports/article/578626 Winnipeg Blue Bombers http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/ho...y-47117242.html Saskatchewan Roughriders receivers http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/Jason+Cle...9433/story.html Winnipeg Blue Bombers rookies http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/fo...h-46802922.html Saskatchewan Roughriders o-line http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/Roughride...6069/story.html Saskatchewan Roughriders linebackers http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/Saskatche...4096/story.html Saskatchewan Roughriders def. line http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/Roughride...0153/story.html

Jim Owens was the head coach of the Washington Huskies when I lived in the Seattle area as a kid in the early 60s. Here's something you probably didn't know, but I remember it well. Sports Illustrated had sort of a quote of the week from a sports figure each issue called "They Said It". About 45 years ago, it was Jim Owens who was quoted to say what is now considered a cliche and attributed to almost everybody, "A tie is like kissing your sister." Here's his LA Times obit: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...0,1707578.story Jim Owens, 82, an All-American end at the University of Oklahoma under legendary football coach Bud Wilkinson who later coached the University of Washington for 18 seasons, died Saturday at his home in Bigfork, Mont. The University of Washington confirmed his death but did not specify the cause. Owens coached at Washington from 1957 until his retirement in 1974. He went 99-82-6 in his nearly two decades as coach of the Huskies, including three Rose Bowl trips. The first, in 1960, was Washington's first victory in the Rose Bowl, a 44-8 rout of Wisconsin. The Huskies came back to win the 1961 Rose Bowl, 17-7, over Minnesota, then lost in 1964 to Illinois, 17-7. Owens also served as Washington's athletic director from 1960 to 1969. His accomplishments were honored in 2003 when the university dedicated a statue of Owens outside one of the entrances to Husky Stadium. But that honor came with protests about his treatment of black players during his time at Washington. "To my players, I thank them and apologize for any hurt they may feel. I hope today we can begin to heal the wounds of the past," Owens said the day his statue was dedicated. An Oklahoma City native, Owens served in the Naval Air Corps during World War II. He was a four-year letterman at Oklahoma after the war, and in 1949, his senior season, was team captain and the leading receiver on a Sooner team that went 11-0 with Darrell Royal at quarterback. Ownes played one year with the Baltimore Colts in the National Football League, then became an assistant coach under Paul "Bear" Bryant at Kentucky and Texas A&M in the 1950s before being named head coach at Washington.

RIP. I have a lot of nostalgia for the many 70s albums I have him on.

I went to deezer the first time last night, and couldn't figure out how to get it to play. What do I need to do?

Here's a good pre-season preview from the Sun papers. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/200...699016-sun.html ***** The only Arena league player I have found to have signed with a CFL team is the MVP of last year's Arena Bowl QB Matt D'Orazio, who is with the Stampeders. He's a 32 year old rookie! http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Cal...686631-sun.html ***** Dan Comiskey has retired. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Edm...686646-sun.html ***** Remember the great Fiesta Bowl when Boise State beat Oklahoma? Boise State's QB was Jared Zabransky. He spent a little time with the Steelers but he hurt his throwing arm. He has undergone surgery, and is now trying out with the Eskimos. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Edm...673651-sun.html

I'm particularly interested in hearing the 50s sides of disc 1.

In December I bought myself with some Christmas money the Sony box of their first five albums from an Amazon seller for I think $17 including shipping. The CDs include bonus tracks, although I feel that the tracks which were selected to be included in the original releases were justly chosen. About 20 years ago I saw Gene Clark sing Byrds songs in Atlanta. He was fronting a summer touring group called The Byrds, but he was the only legit member. He was good.

Happy Birthday 2009 Kalo!

Happy Birthday RDK!

Lala: Freddie Hubbard - Without a Song Sun Ra - Nidhamu & Dark Myth Equation Visitation

Here's his Washington Post obit: (If there was ever someone whose notice should be called an obit rather than an obituary, it was Sam Butera!) http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...0,3281584.story ...Prima was the most influential figure in his life. "The whole thing is entertainment, man," Butera told a reporter. "I learned that from him. You can get up on stage, do all the singing and talking you want, but if you don't know how to laugh and get happy with the people, it's nothing."

Lala (last night): Sonny Rollins - Reel Life

Randy Johnson won his 300th game today. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/big-...article1169624/ "The Big Unit hit the big number on Thursday, becoming the 24th pitcher to reach one of baseball’s most revered milestones. Johnson tossed two-hit ball over six innings, leading the San Francisco Giants to a 5-1 victory over the Washington Nationals in the first game of a doubleheader."

AOS makes lots of good stuff. I like the shaving oil as much as the hard soap. Also, the silvertip badger brush I have from them is the best I've ever had. Looks like it is time to stock up on the oil and soap. JL. let me invite you to join us at ShaveMy Face! I'm sure that the guys will be interested in your opinions. Or maybe not, depending on what they are! http://www.shavemyface.com/forum/

RIP. My favorite of his with Prima is Next Time. I'll play it today.