GA Russell

Wouldn't it be funny if, between all the members and lurkers here, Netflix noticed a run on the movie?

Angola is the federal penitentiary in Louisiana. When I was a kid, that was the last place on earth you wanted to go. People would shudder to think of it. Chris Kenner was murdered there. I think the music sets the mood very well. I've given the CD a few listens, but it's not for me - too powerful. (Yes Chuck and Larry, this was a promo that I didn't write about because I didn't love it.) David Murray is on it, and from what I have heard of Murray in the past, it appears to me that Wiley is influenced by him. My guess is that if you love Murray, you will like this album too.

I agree 100%, Dave.

New this week: Sadao Watanabe - Bossa Nova '67 John Scofield - This Meets That

The Argos have cut Mookie Mitchell. I think he's done, don't you? http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/349305 ***** The news conference to announce the awarding of an expansion franchise to Ottawa is set for tomorrow afternoon. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

Over the years I have read Aspinall's name many times, but I never knew exactly how he fit in. I think this obit from the LA Times (dated tomorrow) does a good job of explaining. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...1,6839007.story Neil Aspinall, 66; longtime Beatles friend and business associate The legendary group's original road manager, Aspinall went on to run the Beatles' Apple Corps empire for 40 years. By Randy Lewis, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer March 25, 2008 Neil Aspinall, a lifelong pal of the Beatles from their scuffling days in Liverpool, England, who became their road manager and then spent 40 years as the chief protector of the group's recorded legacy as head of Apple Corps, has died of lung cancer. He was 66. Aspinall died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He had stepped down last year after four decades of running Apple Corps, where he led the company's trademark-infringement lawsuit against Steve Jobs' Apple Inc. At the time, a source in the Beatles camp said Aspinall retired at least partly because of his health. Neil Aspinall click to enlarge "Neil's trusting stewardship and guidance has left a far-reaching legacy for generations to come," said a statement released today by Apple Corps on behalf of surviving Beatles bandmates Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison: Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison. The statement did not specify when Aspinall died. "All his friends and loved ones will greatly miss him, but will always retain the fondest memories of a great man." Aspinall, whose early role for the Beatles was driving them from gig to gig in a cramped van, conceived the "Anthology" TV series that ignited a new wave of Beatlemania in the 1990s and sold nearly 8 million copies of the accompanying three volumes of CDs. He also was executive producer of the "1" hits collection, which jolted many in the music industry when it debuted at No. 1 on the national sales chart in 2000 and went on to spend eight weeks at the top of the chart, trumping the latest offerings from latter-day hit-makers such as the Backstreet Boys, Rage Against the Machine and rapper Xzibit. The "1" album has sold more than 11 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and an estimated 30 million worldwide. Aspinall helped make George Harrison's dying wish for a final collaboration among the surviving Beatles not just a reality, but a critical hit as well, by facilitating the participation of longtime Beatles producer George Martin and his son, Giles, to oversee the musical mash-up soundtrack for Cirque du Soleil's show "Love" in Las Vegas. Yet while those projects introduced the Fab Four's music to new generations of fans, Aspinall also was seen as the man who largely resisted licensing their recordings for downloading over the Internet, downplaying fan and retailer requests for sonically upgraded CDs and even squelching attempts for a "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" box set in conjunction with last year's 40th anniversary of the landmark album's release. "While fans complained that Apple was slow to move into the digital age and that the core Beatles catalog went more than 20 years without being updated and remastered, Neil was responsible for bringing Apple back to life in the '90s with several key releases," Beatles historian and author Bruce Spizer said today. " 'Live at the BBC' contains several Beatles recordings of songs not on their EMI/Capitol albums. The 'Anthology' video and albums, which evolved from a film project started by Neil in late 1969 or early 1970, have numerous [previously] unreleased live and studio recordings. . . . Although fans wished Neil had authorized more music and video projects while at Apple, one must be impressed with the high quality of what was issued under his direction." Aspinall also went down in Beatles history as the associate who stayed with the group even after manager Brian Epstein fired drummer Pete Best, when Lennon, McCartney and Harrison decided they'd rather have a crosstown rival drummer -- Ringo Starr -- in the group. It was a particularly difficult choice for Aspinall because he had been renting a room from Best's family and had become romantically involved with Best's mother, Mona, a long-term affair that produced a child, Roag Best. After siding with the band majority, Aspinall stayed on as their road manager during the height of worldwide Beatlemania and when Epstein died in 1967, they turned to Aspinall to take the reins of their business affairs. His lack of business experience led to financial disasters that prompted Lennon, Harrison and Starr to hire New York lawyer Allen Klein, who promptly fired Aspinall. But the Beatles re-hired him in a lesser role, until the group's falling-out with Klein in the early-1970s, at which point Aspinall resumed leadership of Apple Corps He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Suzy, and five children. No plans for services have been announced.

Here's what Breitbart has to say: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8...;show_article=1

Here's a link to videos of early 60s Saturday morning cartoon shows. http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/03/22/saturday...-to-1964-video/

This might help: http://www.jazzintoronto.com/

Quebec City is one of my favorite places to visit! I think that you'll be disappointed wherever you go compared to it. I voted for Toronto, though it has been ten years since I have been to Canada. I'm not a fan of Montreal, except a small area around St. Denis (?) St. Montreal does have some great French restaurants, though!

Thanks kh!

Even at 100%, I can't read it on my monitor. Does he say anything intereresting?

I like the suggestions regarding using them in the dryer. http://lifehackery.com/2008/03/22/50-great...h-tennis-balls/

It occurs to me that Easter is a holiday which is not associated with drinking alcohol!

I'm pretty sure I had an album by Maneige. I'll have to check my database. The album I'm thinking of was great, but maybe it was by another band.

The Globe & Mail broke the story that the league is fairly close to issueing an Ottawa franchise to 67s owner Jeff Hunter. I don't disbelieve it, but my feeling is that, as Donald Trump used to say, there's no deal till there's a deal. The plan is for the team to start in 2010. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Ott...058366-sun.html ***** Here's as eight minute video from YouTube of the 2007 Grey Cup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqAviCncNjo

What do the stars mean?

Chuck, you will enjoy this one, The Best Goals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCdcAfXsom0...feature=related Kenny, what's with some of the refs wearing green shirts? Do they no longer wear the white coats and hats?

Paul Scofield died yesterday. Here is his AP obituary: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...1,7630021.story British actor Paul Scofield dies at 86 ReutersBritish actor Paul Scofield won an Academy Award for the 1966 film "A Man for All Seasons." From the Associated Press 6:41 AM PDT, March 20, 2008 London -- Paul Scofield, the towering British stage actor who won international fame and an Academy Award for the film "A Man for All Seasons," has died. He was 86. Scofield died Wednesday in a hospital near his home in southern England, agent Rosalind Chatto said. He had been suffering from leukemia. Paul Scofield click to enlarge Photo Gallery Paul Scofield | 1922-2008 Scofield made few films even after the Oscar for his 1966 portrayal of Sir Thomas More, the Tudor statesman executed for treason in 1535 after clashing with King Henry VIII. He was a stage actor by inclination and by his gifts -- a dramatic, craggy face and an unforgettable voice that was likened to a Rolls-Royce starting up or the rumbling sound of low organ pipes. Even his greatest screen role was a follow up to a play -- the London stage production of "A Man for All Seasons," in which he starred for nine months. Scofield also turned in a performance in the 1961 New York production that won him extraordinary reviews and a Tony Award. "With a kind of weary magnificence, Scofield sinks himself into the part, studiously underplays it, and somehow displays the inner mind of a man destined for sainthood," Time magazine said. Scofield's huge success with "A Man for All Seasons" was followed in 1979 by another great historical stage role, as composer Antonio Salieri in "Amadeus." Actor Richard Burton, once regarded as the natural heir to Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud at the summit of British theater, said it was Scofield who deserved that place. "Of the 10 greatest moments in the theater, eight are Scofield's," he said. Scofield's rare films included Edward Albee's "A Delicate Balance" in 1974; Kenneth Branagh's 1989 production of "Henry V," in which he played the king of France; "Quiz Show," Robert Redford's film about the 1950s TV scandal in which Scofield played poet Mark Van Doren; and the 1996 adaptation of Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible." Scofield was an unusual star -- a family man who lived almost his entire life within a few miles of his birthplace and hurried home after work to his wife and children. He didn't seek the spotlight, gave interviews sparingly, and at times seemed to need coaxing to venture out, even onto the stage he loved. But, he insisted in The Sunday Times in 1992, "my reclusiveness is a myth. ... Yes, I've turned down quite a lot of parts. At my age you need to weed things out, but the idea that I can't be bothered anymore with acting -- that's quite absurd. Acting is all I can do. An actor: That's what I am." Scofield reportedly had been offered a knighthood, but declined. "It is just not an aspect of life that I would want," he once said. "If you want a title, what's wrong with Mr.?" In 2001, however, he was named a Companion of Honor, one of the country's top honors, limited to 65 living people. His temperament, too, was unexpected in an actor who remained at the very top of his profession. "It is hard not to be Polyanna-ish about Paul because he is such a manifestly good man, so humane and decent, and curiously void of ego," said director Richard Eyre, former artistic director of Britain's National Theatre. "All the pride he has is channeled through the thing that he does brilliantly." David Paul Scofield was born Jan. 21, 1922, son of the village schoolmaster in Hurstpierpoint, 8 miles from the south coast of England. When he married actress Joy Parker in 1943, they settled only 10 miles north, in the country village of Balcombe, where they reared their son and daughter and where Scofield was in easy striking distance of London's West End theaters. Scofield trained at the Croydon Repertory Theater School and London's Mask Theater School before World War II. Barred from service for medical reasons, he toured in plays, entertaining troops and acting in repertory in factory towns around the country. Throughout the 1940s, he worked repertory and in London and Stratford in plays ranging from Shakespeare and Shaw to Steinbeck and Chekhov. In his 20s, he worked with director Peter Brook, touring as Hamlet in 1955. The collaboration included the stage adaptation of Graham Greene's "The Power and the Glory" in 1956, which Gielgud regarded as Scofield's greatest performance. His later stage appearances included "Heartbreak House" in 1992 and the 1996 National Theatre production of Ibsen's "John Gabriel Borkman." He is survived by his wife and children.

Thanks Kenny! 150 years is a long time! Rugby football was brought over to Canada in the 1860s by the British army officers (Montreal) and civil servants Toronto). May I assume that the same occurred in Australia?

The Lions traded Pikula today to the Eskimos for the 18th pick in the draft. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/BC/...5062066-cp.html ***** Here's a surprise. The Stampeders have cut Scott Coe. With an unsatisfactory defense last year, the Stamps are letting go of their linebackers (first Clark, now Coe). http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Cal...5050721-cp.html

David, I once read an old French saying that I try to keep in mind: A money wound is not fatal. Good luck and best wishes!

Congratulations on the baby Jim! The project sounds exciting. I'll be looking forward to hearing that "live in the studio" sound!

Thanks Paul and VB.

Thanks, Guy. A college classmate of mine named Mike Mortara invented something about mortgages when he was with Goldman Sachs. I think he invented the CDO. I know he became very wealthy as a result, but he died (I think of heart failure) fairly young.