GA Russell

I too share Noj's experience. When I was in high school, I enjoyed all of the few instrumental hits played on the pop radio stations. To this day, I far prefer instrumentals. That said, three of my very favorite new albums of 2007 were by singers - Janice Friedman, Jan Shapiro and John Vance. They each have their own threads. I'm sure that I've played them more than the new instrumental albums I've gotten this year. I imagine it says something, though I'm not sure what, that all three are available from CDBaby rather than the major retailers.

I heard the tail end of Bill O'Reilly talking about it, and he said that the girl's mother is reported to have already sold photos of the baby for $1 million.

Quincy, it's been forty years since I read Cather in the Rye, but as I recall Holden daydreamed about catching a girl falling in a rye field. Baseball wasn't a part of it.

It's been years since I have paid close attention to baseball, so you are welcome to dismiss my opinions as those of someone who is out of touch. But from what I have seen, there are two obvious improvements in the game compared to when I was a boy in the early 60s. The first is the ability of batters to connect on the low and inside pitch. The second is the defense. When I was a boy I watched Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese every week without fail. They would almost always show the Yankees, the best team in the majors. And it was routine to see at least once every game a wild throw to first in which the batter would take second. Often the throw would go into the stands. It's been years since I have seen that.

I have the two Live Oblivion albums (one a double album). I never ranked them very highly because I just don't like Alex Ligertwood on vocals. I remember seeing them once on Don Kirschner's Rock Concert.

The Canadian league's Jake Gaudaur, as well as Bobby Simpson. The NFL's Ed Brown and Max McGee.

Happy Birthday Jim! In your honor I'll put on some Hi-Lo's.

Can I be Secret Agent John Drake? I've been told that I look like John Lithgow, the star of Third Rock from the Sun.

I saw the other day that Quartet San Francisco's Whirled Chamber Music was nominated for the Best Album Grammy in the Crossover Classical category.

I ordered this one from CDBaby today for my niece for Christmas. My niece likes Blossom Dearie, so I'm confident she'll like Jan Shapiro as well.

I ordered this one from CDBaby today for my sister for Christmas.

Vibes and Sandy may disagree with me on this, FFA, but I don't think retailers would mind if you come back and use a coupon again. I think the idea is to get you into the store to buy something you hadn't planned on at full price. By using the coupon a second time, you are visiting the store a second time, which is what they want. That's my guess.

Thanks, Al. I'm a bit tapped out to be spending money on myself, but with just a little bit of surfing I found a few that I would like to have. We'll have to see what the bills look like this month!

Thanks for the heads up! What are the shipping charges like for J&R?

Happy Birthday Dmitry!

Happy Birthday Ghost!

Allen, have you considered lulu.com? I saw a presentation by owner Bob Young of Red Hat fame, and it all seemed pretty good.

I saw Olivia Friday on Fox & Friends. She's pushing 60, but she still looks fantastic, and she sounded better than ever. She was promoting her new Christmas album. The song she sang was pretty stupid, so I won't be picking up the CD. But for someone out of the limelight for so many years, she was a very pleasant surprise.

I've been in Chicago on a business trip the past week, and I was away from a computer. A lot happened that I will get to soon, but I want to make a point of mentioning that Jake Gaudaur passed away. I first met him in 1978. We met and spoke on the phone a number of times, and my dealings with him were a highlight of my life. So in memoriam, I would like to post Dan Ralph's entire obituary: Former CFL commissioner dies Gaudaur served from '68 to '84 By Dan Ralph, THE CANADIAN PRESS Jake Gaudaur. Pete Martin will forever remember Jake Gaudaur's tenure as CFL commissioner. Gaudaur, who served as CFL commissioner from 1968 until 1984, died Tuesday in a Burlington, Ont., nursing home of prostate cancer. He was 87. Martin was a linebacker with the Toronto Argonauts in the late 1960s when he received a letter personally signed by Gaudaur after being ejected from a game with the Ottawa Rough Riders. "It was a polite letter from Jake informing me that I was being fined $75," Martin recollected Tuesday. "I still have it and smile when I read it because I didn't feel very good about what I had done. "But I've always thought Jake was a very, very classy man. He was always very friendly and he always remembered who you were. He was an incredible commissioner who really helped make the CFL what it is today." Gaudaur was born Oct. 5, 1920 in Orillia, Ont. His father, Jacob, was a professional rowing champion and while Jake Gaudaur did follow in his father's footsteps initially, he also played hockey and lacrosse before blazing his own trail in Canadian pro football. "He was a very humble and modest man so he never spoke of his accomplishments," Diane Gaudaur said of her father. "I went through his scrapbooks a few weeks ago and I was quite stunned by all of his involvements. "He was an accomplished athlete. But I don't think he was as great an athlete as he was an administrator because he commanded so much respect from people. It was hard to be rude to my father because he was such a gentle giant. He was certainly proud of his involvement with the CFL at all levels, even back to the early days." Gaudaur played for the Hamilton Tigers (1940-1941, 1948-1949), Toronto Argonauts (1941), Toronto RCAF Hurricanes (1942), Toronto Indians (of the Ontario Rugby Football Union, 1945-'46), Montreal Alouettes (1947), Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1950-1951, 1953). He won Grey Cups as a player with the Hurricanes as well as his final season with the Ticats in '53. He served as a director with the Ticats in '52 and was the club's president and general manager from 1954 to '67. During that time, Hamilton captured nine East Division titles and four Grey Cup crowns but Gaudaur never wanted to bring attention to that success, even in retirement. Diane Gaudaur remembers a comment her father made to her after she bought him a marker for his walker. "All I could find was a Curious George or a Tiger-Cat so I settled on Curious George," she said. "He said, 'I'm glad you didn't get the Tiger-Cat because it would look like I was drawing attention to myself.' "That is my father." Gaudaur, who served as a pilot in the Second World War, was named the CFL's fifth commissioner in 1968. During his term, Gaudaur was instrumental in keeping the league a Canadian entity and resisted American influence by ensuring it maintained its Canadian rules and regulations. He also took an active role in the boardroom, heading up the Player Pension Plan Advisory Board, the Management Council as well as the Rules Committee. He was also a determined negotiator, a quality that put the CFL on a more solid financial footing thanks to the radio and television deals he brokered. It allowed the league to compete with the NFL for players such as Joe Theismann, who spurned the Miami Dolphins to sign with Toronto in the 1970s. "The passing of Jake Gaudaur has left the CFL family with a heavy heart today," CFL commissioner Mark Cohon said in a statement. "Jake's leadership and dedication to the CFL throughout his career were a great service to our League and to the sport of Canadian football. "While we mourn his passing, we also celebrate his life, his community leadership and all of his wonderful accomplishments. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Gaudaur family and all of Jake's friends and fans across the country." Some of Diane Gaudaur's fondest recent memories of her father was his interaction with Bella, her four-year-old golden lab. "It's my dog but he took it over," she said with a chuckle. "Every night we would go into his room and she'd jump on his bed and they would have a little fight. "They would go through the motions, they'd both growl. It was quite wonderful. "He loved this dog. This dog just kept him going. Every time she walked into his room, he'd give her heck like, "What are you doing here, madame?" He was very playful with her." Gaudaur was inducted into both the Toronto Argonauts and Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1984 and was made an officer of the Order of Canada in 1985. Gaudaur is also a member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Gaudaur is survived by his wife, Isabel, three daughters and seven grandchildren. Visitation will be held Friday at Smith Funeral Homes in Burlington from 3-5 p.m. ET and 7-9 p.m. A private family service will be held Saturday.

One of my favorites! I'm sure you'll like it, Tom!

I had Phaedra when it was new, and I'm pretty sure I got Moondawn as a cutout. I haven't thought about them in decades! If I ever come across them I'll put them on. Old times! Thanks, Guy!

Thanks Marla, particularly for the shot from the bandstand. I can't imagine there are enough seats to be able to pay musicians. Of course, the deal with the club originally was that it didn't pay the jam session musicians, right?.

ak, I saw Steve Novosel in concert in DC with Lloyd McNeal and Eric Gravat in '68. I thought the whole band was great! I didn't hear much of him in the next few years, and then his name cropped up again in the papers as the husband of Roberta Flack.

We live in a world now where celebrities have never done anything. For sure, you can't say that he didn't earn his money! The first time I heard of him was that Las Vegas Caesar's Palace jump in the 60s. In those days, news shows rarely showed films of things happening. There just wasn't much documentation to be had. But that jump (and the spectacular crash) was on film, and shown on the six o'clock news more than once. With that crash, he was (in people's minds) just a nut daredevil, a really nuts daredevil. But then he became famous because the next time he would do a stunt people would think, "I remember seeing that Caesar's Palace jump. You mean that guy survived and is still doing stunts?" I would say that the Snake River Canyon jump rivalled the Bobby Riggs-Billie Jean King match as the most hyped nothings of my lifetime.

aloc, that's how I feel listening to the CFL games each week on the internet! And I love doing without the instant replay. On the radio they talk about the game. On TV, they talk about the replay.