Aggie87

Late here too (out of town last week, sorry!), but wishing you all the best, Shawn!

Can't pick one over the other. II is the best sequel that's ever been made, IMO.

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada - 31 July 11 4,000 year old petroglyphs, Valley of Fire Death Valley, California - 2 Aug 11 Billboard in Las Vegas - 3 Aug 11

I think Pence will prove to be a great pickup for the Phillies. Good luck! I hate to see him leave the Astros, but really, there's nothing "there" to leave anymore. Michael Bourn is about the only person left on the roster that may have any trade value at all.

Wow, that was out of left field! I thought the Eagles were set with DRC and Samuel. Guess not. Cowboys still have a suspect secondary - I wonder if they'd be interested in Samuel, if he is indeed available. And if the Eagles would trade within their division. I guess they traded McNabb to the 'skins, so anything's possible.

Appears the Nnamdi saga is down to either the Jets or the Cowboys. He's a great player, but also pricey. Will be curious to see where he ends up. Patriots cut Ty Warren today, supposedly due to him not being in shape after being in IR last year. Like to see him in a Cowboys uniform if he's still able to play. He was a solid lineman in NE. Vince Young signed with the Eagles, to back up Vick. If Vick gets injured, watch out Eagles! Not sure you want Young in charge. The Eagles also signed free agent QB Jerrod Johnson, who had a poor senior season at A&M last year. If his arm returns to it's previous form, he's worth developing. Big guy, had a cannon, smart, and a team player. Conn told me he's fine with both players, as role players. Neither are expected to carry the team. He's probably right, given Belichick's ability to plug players in left and right and not skip a beat. I think Haynesworth will be grumbling before long, myself. For some reason or nother.

Is he still with the Raiders? Gonna be the starter this year?

That's a great song, Shawn! Also - from an SW email I got today: "The latest releases in the King Crimson 40th Anniversary series have been announced and will be available as a pre-order from Burning Shed's King Crimson store within the next 48 hours. The releases are Discipline and Starless And Bible Black. Both will be loaded with the extras people have come to expect from this superlative series and both will feature 5.1 surround mixes by Steven Wilson and new stereo mixes by Wilson and Robert Fripp."

Hot and bone dry here. But keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Don, out in the gulf, which is apparently making a beeline toward Corpus Christi. I don't think it will strengthen enough to turn into a hurricane though. Best case is we get a good soaking rain and little wind damage.

You bring up good points Chuck. I don't have the answer. Hard to have much sympathy for their millionaire/billionaire squabbles. I just like watching football games.

Ready for some FOOTBALL!!! Well, today's been an interesting day in the NFL. Today's the first day teams can sign their own free agents, or draft picks, cut players, or trade players. So there's been a flurry of activity all over the place. The Cowboys have cut Roy Williams, Marion Barber, and Leonard Davis, all of whom had subpar years last year (and in Williams' case a subpar Cowboys career, based on at least Jones' expectations). They act like they want to try to acquire corner Nnamdi Asomugha, but he may out of their price range. I also see that the Redskins have traded Donovan McNabb apparently to the Vikings. Dunno if he'll be the starter for a year until Ponder is ready, or if they'll throw Ponder to the wolves and have McNabb back him up. Former Vike Tarvaris Jackson is now a Seahawk, and could be their starter this year. Matt Leinart is also a Seahawk, rejoining his former USC coach, Pete Carroll. Maybe he'll be the starter instead. Neither excite me too much. What has your team done so far? The Hall of Fame Game was cancelled, but the rest of the preseason games are on as scheduled, starting 11 August! That's only 16 days away!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGUGXOxs6p0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ERAV57bqaU&feature=related

+1 Remember, you heard it here first!

My set was made and released in the United States by Fantasy in 1991. It has 16 CDs. I have the European ZYX (small cube) edition, and it too is 16 cds. I don't think there was ever an 18 disc edition, though I could be wrong.

Looking back through this thread, and I noticed this 8 year old comment. If you weren't already aware Bev, there is a new "Grey and Pink". 3 discs, and just came out last month. Here's the description from Amazon: "Digitally remastered and expanded deluxe three disc (two CDs + NTSC/Region 0 DVD) edition of this classic album from the British Rock/Folk outfit. Disc One contains the original album plus three brand new stereo mixes of album tracks by Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree). Disc Two contains four new stereo mixes of non-album tracks plus two previously unreleased recordings and five live tracks. Disc Three is a DVD containing a brand new 5.1 Surround Sound mix and a new stereo mix of the entire album by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree and two videos recorded for the German pop music program, Beat Club, in June 1971." Six years later and Downes is indeed Yes' keyboardist again.

I've always liked Drama as well, Shawn! It's a shame it's taken 10 years for Yes to put this album out. Both this and Magnification are worthy additions to the Yes canon. Hopefully the next album isn't 10 more years down the line.

Yes - Fly From Here This just came out, and I know a few of us have had a chance to check it out already. I have to say I'm very pleasantly surprised by this album, as I really wasn't expecting that much. Yes has been touring without Jon Anderson for a few years now, with a singer named Benoit David, who was plucked from a Yes-tribute band in Canada. He kind of looks like a younger version of Jon, and has a similar voice. They also had been touring with Oliver Wakeman on keys, and had been preparing to record this album with him (in fact I think he's on it in a few spots, but can't tell where), but when Trevor Horn came in to produce, he recommended bringing Geoff Downes for some keyboards on the title track, which was an old Drama/Buggles era track that they expanded into a 20+ minute suite here. Downes ended up basically replacing O. Wakeman, and is now in the band and touring with them. Anyway, the album really impressed me! David doesn't sound like he's trying to mimic Anderson, but simply bringing his own style to things. Kind of like Horn did when he sang on Drama. The music sounds Yes-like, but also sounds like Yes should sound today. Squire sings on one track as well, "The Man You Always Wanted Me To Be". And Steve Howe is definitely heard on this album. Is it the new Close to the Edge? Not at all. But 42 years after releasing their first album, they still are capable of putting out music that's interesting to listen to. Check it out! Edit - Found the Buggles' version of Fly from here, from 1981. Interesting.

Happy Birthday!

Nice transition there

If you actually talk to him, try to call him Lazaro instead of Zalaro!

There's also a Best Of CD being released at the same time Best of what? Do you mean a smaller, one disc version of the 3 discs in this set? Or something else?

You know, one thing that baseball has that football & basketball don't (for the most part) is minor leagues, developmental leagues, and independent leagues. The players in A/AA/AAA and indy leagues are all competing day in and day out for that one shot at getting to the bigs. I don't think that explains why there aren't so many black MLB players, but it may be one factor. The NBA gets high school kids (or kids with one year of college under their belt) and is willing to sign them to a roster and make them an instant star (with the instant multi-million dollar contract), or spend a year or two developing them to where they can be solid contributors, while still on that roster (see DeAndre Jordan, LA Clippers). MLB doesn't really do that. Even the first round draft picks in the MLB seem to spend time in the minors before ever showing up at the show. And there were 50 rounds in this past draft. 50! There aren't "instant" stars. The allure for some urban kids from poor backgrounds may be more for the instant money (NBA) than the developmental job (MLB), that may or may not ever result in a big paycheck. Might even venture a guess that more MLB players (black, white, whatever) come from middle class backgrounds comparatively, where they were allowed to develop over time as they grew up, in Little League/Pony League, traveling teams, etc. Which all cost money. There is ALOT more competition to get onto a professional MLB baseball team, compared to an NFL or NBA team.

Interesting lineup on that freebie track, as well: SW - vocals/keyboards Theo Travis - sax/flute Steve Hackett - guitars Nick Beggs - bass Nic France - drums