GA Russell

The Globe & Mail reports that Doug Flutie, Pinball Clemons, Mike Pringle, John Bonk and builder Tom Sheppard have been elected to the Hall of Fame. Poor Bonk. No one is going to pay any attention to him at the ceremony with those other three guys there! http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

Here's an article which contrasts the way the Fed has bailed out Bear Stearns shareholders and helped JP Morgan with the way Norway, Sweden and Finland took over their bankrupt banks ensuring that the shareholders would get nothing. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtm...31/cnfed131.xml By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor Last Updated: 2:06am BST 01/04/2008 The US Federal Reserve is examining the Nordic bank nationalisations of the 1990s as a possible interim solution to the US financial crisis. The Fed has been criticised for its rescue of Bear Stearns, which critics say has degenerated into a taxpayer gift to rich bankers The Fed has been criticised for its rescue of Bear Stearns, which critics say has degenerated into a taxpayer gift to rich bankers. A senior official at one of the Scandinavian central banks told The Daily Telegraph that Fed strategists had stepped up contacts to learn how Norway, Sweden and Finland managed their traumatic crisis from 1991 to 1993, which brought the region's economy to its knees. It is understood that Fed vice-chairman Don Kohn remains very concerned by the depth of the US crisis and is eyeing the Nordic approach for contingency options. Scandinavia's bank rescue proved successful and is now a model for central bankers, unlike Japan's drawn-out response, where ailing banks were propped up in a half-public limbo for years. While the responses varied in each Nordic country, there a was major effort to avoid the sort of "moral hazard" that has bedevilled efforts by the Fed and the Bank of England in trying to stabilise their banking systems. Norway ensured that shareholders of insolvent lenders received nothing and the senior management was entirely purged. Two of the country's top four banks - Christiania Bank and Fokus - were seized by force majeure. "We were determined not to get caught in the game we've seen with Bear Stearns where shareholders make money out of the rescue," said one Norwegian adviser. "The law was amended so that we could take 100pc control of any bank where its equity had fallen below zero. Shareholders were left with nothing. It was very controversial," he said. Stefan Ingves, governor of Sweden's Riksbank, said his country passed an act so it could seize banks where the capital adequacy ratio had fallen below 2pc. Efforts were also made to protect against "blackmail" by shareholders. Mr Ingves said there were parallels with the US crisis, citing the use of off-balance sheet vehicles to speculate on property. All the Nordic banks were nursed back to health and refloated or merged. The tough policies contrast with the Fed's bail-out of Bear Stearns, where shareholders forced JP Morgan to increase its Fed-led rescue offer from $2 to $10 a share. Christopher Wood, chief strategist at brokers CLSA, says the Fed's piecemeal approach has led to "appalling moral hazard". "Shareholders have been able to lobby for a higher share price only because the Fed took over the credit risk on $30bn of the investment bank's dubious paper. The whole affair also amounts to a colossal subsidy for JP Morgan," he said.

Thanks Jim. I never saw the show either. I was out of the country. I remember well when The New One came out in early '68. I was very fond of it at the time, but haven't heard it since. In the mid-80s I saw Buddy Greco at an industry private party in Las Vegas. He was great! I guess you could call him my guilty pleasure!

By the way, looking at the first clip that started this thread, I think that's George Carlin when he was still cleanshaven along with Steve Rossi introducing the band. Anybody want to disagree?

Here's a very sad story. I am reminded of a case in Toronto less than a year ago when a man of apparently similar ethnic background killed his teenage daughter because she wanted to dress like other Canadian girls and wear blue jeans. A century ago immigrants from Italy wanted their daughters to date only Italian boys. That was understandable, although not for making the American melting pot. But today some immigrant fathers from non-Western countries appear to be brutal. Life must be hell for the women still living in the old country, although maybe it is not as bad as I imagine when everyone in the society is on the same page. Maybe the problem these teenage girls have is that they live in a Western culture all day, and then their fathers expect them to live like they still live in the old country. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,343677,00.html A child prodigy with a talent in mathematics that won her a spot at Oxford at the age of 13 somehow found her way into prostitution. Sufiah Yusof, who calls herself Shilpa Lee, advertises her body on an Internet sex site, charging 130 pounds an hour or $258. Yusof and two siblings won university places in their teens but she ran away at age 15 with claims of pressure from her parents. "It is all desperately heartbreaking," a friend of Yusof said. "With her amazing brain she should be able to make money any way she wants. But instead, her life spiraled completely out of control." Yusof describes herself as a "sexy, smart student" who prefers "older gentlemen" and offers services every day from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Yusof claims her father was "controlling and bullying," which led her to ending the relationship with her family.

The Als have offered a contract to Corey Holmes, but his agent can't find him! http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news...82-8b61f88f617a ***** Bob Ackles announced today that the Lions have extended Wally Buono's contract, but the article doesn't say for how long. This is the last year of his current contract. Wally is second all time in coaching victories, behind Don Matthews. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/BC/...5152306-cp.html

My thoughts as well. I've been checking Google and the LA Times every day, and haven't found anything yet.

TTK, I don't think so. He left the group about 1959, and he was the first to die, in the mid-80s I think. But of course I could be wrong.

Here's an interesting blog site. It claims to have info for women, but I didn't see any. http://www.shavingstuff.com/

Highly recommended. One of my favorite vocal albums.

I don't know how I feel about this. Maybe competitive swimming should be done in suits the closest thing to au natural that modesty will allow, so as to make it a competition between the athletes rather than between the swimwear manufacturers. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,343232,00.html A new, faster competitive bathing suit is the buzz of swimmers worldwide, but the revolutionary athletic attire could be banned from the upcoming Beijing Olympics. The LZR Racer, developed by Speedo with the help of NASA scientists, has been worn in 16 record-breaking swims since its release six weeks ago, the London Daily Mail reported. The suit, which according to Speedo can cut down on swimmers drag in the water by five percent, has been worn by several British swimmers who are praising it. "I just dived in and it felt like I was gliding for ever. It was really effortless through the water," Caitlin McClatchey, 22, one of Britain's brightest swimming stars, told the Mail. But swimming's international governing body, the Federation Internationale de Natation is reviewing claims the suit is giving an edge to swimmers due to allegations it provides greater buoyancy, according to the New York Post. In fact, several leading sportswear companies are preparing to launch their own supersuits, similar to the LZR Racer, according to FOX Sports. Despite rave reviews, not everyone is happy with the suit's performance. Australian world record holder Jessicah Schipper complained the suit slowed her down after she revealed water got inside her suit during that country's Olympic trials Thursday. Speedo officials planned to meet with Schipper, who won the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 2 minutes, 6.82 seconds, far off her world record of 2:05.40. She wore the Speedo LZR Racer "open back kneeskin" during the butterfly final. "We are conducting a thorough investigation but are confident this is not endemic to the LZR Racer suit," said Rob Davies, general manager of Speedo Australia. "Obviously, we will be working closely with Jessicah on a resolution and providing all the assistance she needs." The LZR Racer is made of a lightweight blend of Lycra and nylon, and electronically bonded to fit tighter around one's body, the Post reported.

Thanks, Jim. The PJ band is my favorite Buddy Rich. When I have a free half hour I'll go through the others there at YouTube.

I'm very willing to stand corrected in that regard. I haven't heard that much of Murray. Maybe the cut that Murray appears on flavored my impression.

Thanks Chuck. I've never heard of that one. I told you I was out of touch!

I mentioned in the AotW thread about Duane Tatro's Jazz for Moderns that the two albums were recorded about the same time with many of the same people. If you go to the Album of the Week forum and read the thread about Jazz for Moderns, you may come to the conclusion that you would like it.

Thanks, Jim. What movie is that from?

I'm clueless regarding pop culture. There were a number of comments about a red stapler on the Digg thread. What are you guys referring to?

JL, my grandfather used a straight razor with a strop all his life. Here's a website dedicated to straight razors with its own forum! http://www.straightrazorplace.com/

I read some time ago that the danger in cell phones was from the old analog phones which no longer exist, and that the digital phones are safe. But here's a report that suggests otherwise. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/he...2602.html?r=RSS By Geoffrey Lean Sunday, 30 March 2008 Mobile phones could kill far more people than smoking or asbestos, a study by an award-winning cancer expert has concluded. He says people should avoid using them wherever possible and that governments and the mobile phone industry must take "immediate steps" to reduce exposure to their radiation. The study, by Dr Vini Khurana, is the most devastating indictment yet published of the health risks. It draws on growing evidence – exclusively reported in the IoS in October – that using handsets for 10 years or more can double the risk of brain cancer. Cancers take at least a decade to develop, invalidating official safety assurances based on earlier studies which included few, if any, people who had used the phones for that long. Earlier this year, the French government warned against the use of mobile phones, especially by children. Germany also advises its people to minimise handset use, and the European Environment Agency has called for exposures to be reduced. Professor Khurana – a top neurosurgeon who has received 14 awards over the past 16 years, has published more than three dozen scientific papers – reviewed more than 100 studies on the effects of mobile phones. He has put the results on a brain surgery website, and a paper based on the research is currently being peer-reviewed for publication in a scientific journal. He admits that mobiles can save lives in emergencies, but concludes that "there is a significant and increasing body of evidence for a link between mobile phone usage and certain brain tumours". He believes this will be "definitively proven" in the next decade. Noting that malignant brain tumours represent "a life-ending diagnosis", he adds: "We are currently experiencing a reactively unchecked and dangerous situation." He fears that "unless the industry and governments take immediate and decisive steps", the incidence of malignant brain tumours and associated death rate will be observed to rise globally within a decade from now, by which time it may be far too late to intervene medically. "It is anticipated that this danger has far broader public health ramifications than asbestos and smoking," says Professor Khurana, who told the IoS his assessment is partly based on the fact that three billion people now use the phones worldwide, three times as many as smoke. Smoking kills some five million worldwide each year, and exposure to asbestos is responsible for as many deaths in Britain as road accidents. Late last week, the Mobile Operators Association dismissed Khurana's study as "a selective discussion of scientific literature by one individual". It believes he "does not present a balanced analysis" of the published science, and "reaches opposite conclusions to the WHO and more than 30 other independent expert scientific reviews".

Happy Birthday jl!

I had Billy Consolo's baseball card in 1959. At the time, he played for the Senators. The first game my dad ever took me to was a Senators-KC Athletics game that year, and I'm pretty sure that Consolo played in it. Here's his obituary from the LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...1,5038484.story Billy Consolo, 73; Dorsey baseball player went pro at 18, later coached Tigers template_bastemplate_bas By Claire Noland, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer March 29, 2008 Billy Consolo, a standout baseball player at Dorsey High School in Los Angeles in the early 1950s who went straight to the Boston Red Sox and later served as a coach with childhood friend and Detroit Tigers Manager Sparky Anderson, has died. He was 73. Consolo died of an apparent heart attack Thursday at his home in Westlake Village, said Dan Ewald, a longtime Tigers public relations director who is now retired. An infielder who made his major league debut at age 18, Consolo played with six teams in 10 years, including a brief stop with the old Los Angeles Angels in 1962. He retired after that season with a lifetime batting average of .221, nine home runs and 83 runs batted in over 603 games. When Anderson was hired to manage the Tigers in 1979, he took along his old playground buddy Consolo, who was a coach until 1992 then returned briefly in 1995. William Angelo Consolo was born Aug. 18, 1934, in Cleveland and moved with his family to Los Angeles as a child. He played baseball and ran track at Dorsey and was named city player of the year in 1951 and 1952. Anderson and Bill Lachemann (older brother of future major leaguers Rene and Marcel Lachemann) were his teammates at Dorsey and with the Crenshaw Post 715 American Legion team that won the national title in 1951. After graduating from Dorsey in February 1953, Consolo became one of baseball's first "bonus baby" free agents signed under a rule that required a team to keep the player on its major league roster for two years if it paid a bonus of more than $4,000. Consolo's bonus was reported at the time to be $60,000 to $65,000. (Other bonus babies who had far more success were Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax, Detroit outfielder Al Kaline and Minnesota first baseman Harmon Killebrew. The rule was rescinded in 1957.) Because he couldn't hone his skills in the minor leagues, Consolo mostly rode the bench while occasionally playing second base, third base and shortstop in Boston, then bounced to the Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, the Angels and finally the Kansas City A's. After leaving baseball in 1962, Consolo returned to Los Angeles and followed in his father's footsteps as a barber at the old Statler Hilton Hotel downtown. He was later was a sports instructor at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. "I stayed in baseball as long as I did because I love the game," he told Times sports columnist John Hall in 1969. "I'd have given back all the money if I could have played every day." Survivors include his brothers, Horace and Bobby Consolo.

The News & Observer had an article on shaving the other day that reminded me of this thread. It included a number of websites to check out. http://www.shavemyface.com/

I went to the store the other day and found a big display of GE "Long Life 1+ year" bulbs. I picked up a couple of 4-packs, but forgot to notice the price. The whole thing reminded me of this thread.

Here's a duet of Puerling with Rosie Clooney (without the Hi-Lo's) in which you can hear Puerling's voice without the "competition" of the other three: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Oudvin35c Interesting that someone with such a talent for arranging also had a great voice.

Here's the link to the Digg thread. http://digg.com/educational/Fill_out_short...ingline_stapler Once there, click on the title of the thread, and it will take you to the Swingline website conducting the survey: What would you like in an office toolkit?