GA Russell

FU, FFA!

I put Quiet Kenny on tonight for the first time in a few months. It really is a good, simple album. Really enjoyed it. Everyone should have it!

The best! I thought this was overrated though there were some classic sequences. I'm glad you mentioned this, Bruce. I taped it off the TV many years ago and never got around to watching it. I still have a VCR hooked to my TV, and I'll have to dig it out and watch it. Although this doesn't really qualify as an action movie in the normal sense, those of you who like the Bullitt and French Connection chase scenes will probably also enjoy the Steve McQueen movie Le Mans.

Tomorrow is not only Super Tuesday, it is also Mardi Gras! Here is a link to a website that broadcasts nothing but New Orleans music: http://www.nola.com/new_nolaradio/index.ss...7_mardigras.xml

I have it, but never warmed up to it. I pull it out once a year to give it a listen. John, I once saw a cassette of Pontius Pilate's Decision at a dollar store for 99 cents! I wasn't in the mood to wait in the checkout line just for that one item, so I left without getting it. I've always sort of regretted that!

Congratulations! I would recommend something Mel Torme did, arranged by Marty Paich. You can find those albums on the Bethlehem and Verve labels.

Mine went from 13 to 2, keeping #s 1 and 4. The dates did not change.

Hillary Clinton thinks that the Giants' win is a good omen for her. It doesn't take long for the politicians to get in the act! http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/New...4822678-ap.html

Great game. If the NFL had more games like that, I'd be an NFL fan. The Giants on that last drive showed a lot! I stepped into my car to listen to the various Sirius broadcasts a little bit. I heard the BBC, Flemish, Japanese, German and Russian broadcasts, as well as the Westwood One, the Patriots' and the Giants'.

It's halftime now. I have watched the TV a little bit, but for the most part have listened to the radio. I can't pick up the local station that is carrying the game, but I am getting the Giants broadcast on WFAN New York 660 AM clear as a bell.

I may be the only one here who does not get cable or satellite TV, but if there are any others you will want to know about this. The federal government has set up its website for people to sign up to receive the coupon for the digital converter which will be required soon. Here's the link: https://www.dtv2009.gov/

Lon, I'm very sorry that your wife died. I didn't know. I'll say a prayer for her tonight.

Mo, I remember them as being funny, not about drunk driving.

Uh oh. I just received an email saying that the Evans and the Wilson shipped without the Ferguson. Good news! I received an email today saying that the Maynard was shipped yesterday.

Here's his AP obituary: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...1,1209692.story British pilot took part in 'great escape' From the Associated Press February 1, 2008 Bertram "Jimmy" James, one of the few British prisoners to avoid being executed for joining in the "great escape" from a German prison during World War II, has died. He was 92. James died Jan. 18 at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital in Shrewsbury, England, following a brief illness. He was buried Thursday. He was a pilot on a Wellington bomber that was shot down near Rotterdam in the Netherlands on June 5, 1940, and was captured the next day. Despite numerous attempts to escape, James spent five years as a prisoner of war. Trying to escape, he once remarked, "was our contribution to the war effort." James made 13 attempts from various prisons, according to military historian Howard Tuck. James was sent to Stalag Luft III, near Zagan in Poland, in 1943. Joining in plans for a mass escape, he was put in charge of dispersing about 40 tons of sand taken from one tunnel. On the night of March 24, 1944, James was the 39th man to escape. He and a Greek companion made it to a railway station and caught a train headed toward the Czech border, but were recaptured two days later. "When you emerge into the snow and you're running away from the camp, there's a sense of exhilaration," James told the Associated Press in 2004 during celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the escape. "We were on our way, we hoped, to freedom," he said. "That wasn't quite the case." Only three of the 76 escapees made it to freedom. The rest were recaptured, and 50 were shot. The escape attempt from Stalag Luft III was one of the most celebrated incidents of the war, recounted in the film "The Great Escape," starring Steve McQueen and Richard Attenborough. "A lot was Hollywood fantasy," James said. "There were no Americans in the escape." After being caught, James was one of eight men sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp just outside Berlin. He escaped from that prison in 1944 but was recaptured two weeks later. The son of a tea merchant, James was born in India on April 17, 1915. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1939. He learned Russian during his imprisonment and served in the diplomatic service from 1964 to 1975. James is survived by his wife, Madge.

I had the pleasure of meeting Bob Ackles at the 1985 Grey Cup. He says that if the NFL puts a team in Toronto, the CFL will be unable to obtain a national television contract. Since cable channels are national, why wouldn't the CFL be able to get a contract with one of them? http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...65-f727de5fd57d ***** Dave Dickenson says that the Argos were his second choice. I didn't know that he is the league's all-time leader in pass-completion rate. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Cal...4804588-cp.html ***** The Bills' regular season games in Toronto will be in December, after the Grey Cup game. "An NFL source said as many as 25,000 tickets will be available to Toronto and Hamilton season-ticket holders. Bills season-ticket subscribers will have dibs on 10,000 and the remaining 20,000 will be sold to the public by a lottery system." http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Tor...806070-sun.html ***** Dave Ritchie spoke last weekend with Eric Tillman about the Sask head coaching job. When Ritchie won the Grey Cup as the head coach of the Lions in 1994, Tillman was the Lions' General Manager. http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...f3-ee75aab96849

There's a reason we have jury trials. If I were a pastor, I'd inform the NFL that I would demand a jury trial if they chose to sue.

Uh oh. I just received an email saying that the Evans and the Wilson shipped without the Ferguson.

Just opened up Disc 4 of the Buddy DeFranco box. I've had this set since 1990. Opened up Discs 2 and 3 in '92 and '02. I was talking with sjarrel about it the other day, and our conversation reminded me I still had one to go, so today is the day I checked it out and finished the box. Years ago Cuscuna said in one of his catalogues that the DeFranco and the Shorty Rogers were his two worst-selling boxes. I bought both and enjoy them both. Maybe it's time to check out the next Rogers I haven't heard yet too!

Is that what happened? I thought it was an accidental overdose of sleeping pills.

I note that that list of Sirius stars fails to mention Gary Burton, who has a show every Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm eastern. Also Nancy Sinatra, who has a show of Frank's music; Marshall Chess, who does a weekly blues show; and Bruce Lundvall, who does a show of Blue Note music every Friday.

I never saw any of his movies, so I have no opinion of his talent or the loss to acting his death will mean. But in the forty-eight hours following his death, there was a great deal on CNN and Fox News Channel about how tragic his death was, and how sorrowful the world is. Now the word has come out that this fellow was seriously messed up. He was a heroin and cocaine addict. His girl friend moved out with their child because she couldn't take his drug lifestyle any longer. Quite a number of my favorite jazz musicians of the fifties were drug addicts, so I believe in separating the art from the artist. You can love one without respecting the other. So I suppose this is just as true for movie actors as well. But I hope the word goes out to the young movie-going crowd that this guy's death was not the romantic thing it was treated as initially. He was not someone to be admired. http://www.nypost.com/seven/01312008/gossi...x/pagesix_u.htm

There has been a lot of news in the past forty-eight hours, hasn't there? Jarious Jackson has agreed to sign with the Lions for $200,000. a year, which seems low to me. He will be the Lions starting QB. Dave Dickenson is gone, and Buck Pierce is still recovering from shoulder surgery. Dave Ritchie will retire from coaching if he is not hired to be the new Sask head coach. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home ***** Val St. Germain has retired. He was in the league fourteen years. Last year he was with the Riders, so he goes out on top as a Grey Cup champion. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home ***** The Argos cut both John Avery and Robert Edwards today. I have to think that both of them are done because of their knee problems. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home ***** A.J. Gass is retiring, to be an assistant coach with the Eskimos. http://tsn.ca/cfl/news_story/?ID=228627&hubname= ***** The Bombers have cut Davin Bush. I expect him to find a job somewhere at a lower salary. http://www.winnipegsun.com/Sports/Football...803278-sun.html

How big is "big"? Pats beat the Rams as 14-point dogs in 2002. Denver beat GB as 12-pt dogs in 1998. I'd say those both qualify as big!