GA Russell

Congratulations Sandy! Did you suggest to the missus that she be named Mosaic?

Thanks VB. I suppose that even for one it can't be that bad.

I remember well that the Les Crane Show was on the air, but it was on after my bedtime at the time, so I never saw it. I also remember that he was married to Tina Louise, but I had no idea that he was behind Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. Here's his LA Times obituary: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...,0,146080.story Les Crane, 74; former late-night TV host also founded software company file photo, xx Les Crane in 1968. Known for the combative style he brought to his short-livedƒpmid-1960s show, Les Crane was called ¡§the bad-boy of late- nightƒptelevision.¡¨ He launched his software company two decades later, and it made him a multimillionaire. By Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer July 16, 2008 Les Crane, called the "bad boy of late-night television" when he vied for ratings against talk-show king Johnny Carson in the mid-1960s, died of natural causes Sunday at Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, north of San Francisco. He was 74. His death was announced by his daughter, Caprice Crane. Crane was host of a popular radio call-in show in San Francisco when ABC tapped him in 1964 to star in "The Les Crane Show." Attempting to be both serious and witty, the program was touted as combining the approaches of Jack Paar, Mike Wallace and David Susskind, and featured conversations with major news figures, such as civil rights leader Malcolm X and Alabama Gov. George Wallace, as well as lighter chit-chat with movie stars and other celebrities. Crane became known for his combative style and a long-nosed microphone that he aimed at his live audience like a shotgun. The show fizzled, but Crane had the last laugh. In 1984 he founded a software company that made him a multimillionaire, largely from the sales of the computer game "Chessmaster" and a widely used typing tutorial called "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing." Crane helped develop both programs. He also won a Grammy for his 1971 spoken-word recording of the poem “Desiderata.” With its New Age-y sentiments ("You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. . . ."), it became a counterculture hit and a popular target for parody. The irreverent Crane later professed to prefer the parody. Born in New York City on Dec. 3, 1933, Crane graduated from Tulane University in New Orleans, where he studied communications and psychology. He spent several years in the Air Force as a pilot and helicopter flight instructor before moving to San Francisco. There he hosted the radio talk show on KGO-AM that caught the attention of ABC television executives. "The Les Crane Show" began a trial run in the summer of 1964, scoring some coups right away, including the first American television interview with the Rolling Stones. Other guests included singer Harry Belafonte on the civil rights struggle, Freudian analyst Theodore Reik on psychiatry, William F. Buckley on Republican politics and Wallace, the pro-segregation governor and candidate for president. "I wouldn't vote for you for dogcatcher," the handsome, sharp-tongued Crane told Wallace in his most-quoted interview. "The Crane approach is entirely different from the Carson approach," UPI critic Rick Du Brow wrote in one of several kind reviews Crane received. "Whereas Carson offers generally neutralized chit-chat and plenty of variety-type entertainment, Crane hits hard at interviews, conversations and sequences from out on location. The big question is which approach has the greater lasting power -- whether the national digestive tract is able to down an occasional dish of meat and potatoes at midnight." The answer, apparently, was no. Crane was fired and the show was renamed "ABC's Nightlife" and featured a roster of rotating hosts that included Shelley Berman, Dave Garroway and Pat Boone. When those changes did not bring the hoped-for ratings, ABC brought Crane back with Nipsey Russell as his sidekick, but the show fared little better than before and was canceled in late 1965. "The material was so controversial in nature; we met issues head-on," Crane, explaining the show's demise, told Newsday in 1992. "Sponsors declined to be associated with that kind of show. Here would be Malcolm X getting a fair hearing, and this was in a country where there was an outcry because Harry Belafonte and Petula Clark held hands on TV." In 1966, Crane married actress Tina Louise, best known as Ginger on the sitcom "Gilligan's Island." They were divorced after five years. Married five times, he is survived by his wife of 20 years, Ginger Crane, of Belvedere, Calif; and Caprice, a television writer in Los Angeles who is his daughter with Louise. After the show ended, Crane had another short-lived talk show and acted in a few television shows and movies, including the critically panned "An American Dream" (1966), based on the novel by Norman Mailer. He also tried medical school in Mexico but didn't like it and started a communications consulting firm instead. Crane became interested in software after buying a personal computer to help him manage his consulting business. In 1984 he founded the company that became Software Toolworks. In time, the company not only developed software games but also duplicated and packaged software for other companies. In 1994 it was sold to the British company Pearson for $462 million. It is now owned by Learning Co., a leader in educational software.

Happy Birthday Tom!

I've wanted the Ortega since it came out as an LP on Revelation forty years ago. Maybe this is the time I should pull the trigger. I don't see at the website what the shipping charges are. Anybody know?

I read in this morning's paper that he has no interest in another basketball job. He makes his real living as a real estate developer.

I don't see the problem with the Miles release. All of his Prestige material has been available for decades. It's not like they are leaving gems in the vault while they are re-releasing what's already out there. Personally, I wouldn't want the disc. Miles' Prestige recordings are my favorite of his because of what he did without the mute. But I can understand why someone else would like to try this new release. There is always a new generation to be introduced to this stuff.

I completely agree. But don't tell Paul Secor that!

Anheuser was a German brewer in St. Louis, not doing too well. His daughter married Busch, a salesman. Busch did two innovations. He was the first to use the new refrigerated rail cars to ship the beer. Before that, all beer was local. The result was that the local beer continued to be the most popular in each city, and Budweiser was second in each market. Total it up, and Budweiser was #1 in the country. The second innovation was lending money to start-up taverns, with the provision that the tavern would pour only Budweiser. They sold a lot of beer that way. When I was in college forty years ago, a local New Orleans brewery named Jax Beer (because its brewery was adjacent to Jackson Square) was just about the only beer available in bars.

I went to Ron's site, which lists all of them on one page per date. I have heard of only one song post-1988. That's twenty years of being out of touch!

Have a happy one!

US: Goodnight Irene - Gordon Jenkins and The Weavers UK: Goodnight Irene - Frank Sinatra

Happy Birthday EKE BBB!

Happy Birthday Jostber!

I'm sure that he won't have any problem getting another job. He's an ACC icon here in North Carolina. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...Basketball/home

My problem with nuclear power is that no insurance company is willing to touch it. The likelihood of a problem is very low, but the cost of such a problem is extremely high to say the least. I'll have a more positive attitude toward it when the insurance companies feel that it is safe enough for them to get involved.

In Pennsylvania Dutch country, they leave off the pecans and call it shoo-fly pie.

Moose, last I heard, Moosehead was not available in British Columbia, the Canadian province closest to Oregon. My knowledge may be obsolete, but as I understood it, the law in Canada was the provinces could forbid the sale of a brand of beer which did not have a brewery in the province. Moosehead is made in one of the Maritime Provinces as I recall, maybe New Brunswick, so they could sell their product in the US but not in provinces out west. So I can imagine a retailer in Oregon disdaining a relatively small brand from the east. I don't approve, of course, but I can understand it. Maybe one of our Canadian posters will bring us up to date on current Canadian law regarding the sale of beer outside a province. As I recall, the term used discussing the consolidation of breweries was "rationalization".

Saskatchewan Roughriders 33....Hamilton Tiger-Cats 28 http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home All four Western teams won this week. After just three games, the Riders are the only unbeaten team, and the Bombers are the only winless team.

British Columbia Lions 42....Winnipeg Blue Bombers 24 http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home The Bombers scored two TDs late in the game to make the score look better.

Edmonton Eskimos 47....Toronto Argonauts 28 http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

Calgary Stampeders 23....Montreal Alouettes 19 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4164013 http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

Fred Williams Week 3 preview http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4163935

Happy Birthday Guy!

The Argos have put Michael Bishop on waivers! Last year he started 11 games for them and won ten. I suspect that he enjoys the loyalty of his teammates in the locker room. By doing so, the Argos can determine any interest in him. If another team claims him, they can recall him, and the negotiations will commence. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home ***** David Naylor Week 3 preview http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home