cryptique

I've seen those floating around on various sites. Can you give me a quick idea of what they're all about? I think I've seen both mono and stereo mixes. Do you recommend any particular Ebbetts versions (certain albums)?

*cough*

The original CD transfers, though good for their time, are a bit flat. A remastering is long overdue. I don't think that has much to do with being "a product of its time" -- remastering just means the CD will sound better -- truer to the original master tapes. We're not talking about a remix here -- just a remaster. I think the author of that article confuses the two terms. I'm hopeful that we'll get a deluxe remastered series of reissues soon, with better packaging and liner notes, the whole works. That's money I will gladly spend.

As I noted previously, the answer to "why" has everything to do with Cirque du Soleil. The Beatles people and the Cirque people decided to collaborate on a show, and it was decided that rather than simply rolling out a series of unaltered Beatles songs, they needed to create a unique soundtrack for the show. Why the article referenced above never mentions Cirque, I'm not sure. As for "how good they sound," that's just a measure of how well the original recordings cleaned up in this new process. The songs on this disc are not better than the originals -- they just sound better, because th

I can't stand him for a variety of reasons, but he definitely has an arm. Of course, lots of washout former pro QBs had arms, too. I haven't watched him enough to really size him up, but last night he sure looked mediocre when Jacksonville's pass rush managed apply even partial pressure.

You seriously need to stop this. And "one of my best friends is black" is no excuse. I agree with you, though, that we shouldn't have to hear about this on every channel, etc.

He always seemed wound pretty tight. What an asshat.

I agree with this, more or less. To me, USC and Florida are the only other teams besides Michigan that should be considered for the national championship game. Notre Dame might be in that mix if they hadn't been beaten (and badly) head-to-head by Michigan, but that loss takes them out of it. USC could still lose one or both of their last two games (how do they have two left, anyway?). They'll both be tought. Florida could very easily lose to Arkansas. If those both happen, it should definitely be Michigan. Even if USC and Florida both win out, I think Michigan still has a legitimate argument

It's just a political gambit on Rangel's part. That said, despite being a left-wing liberal wack-job, I support the idea of mandatory national service. I truly think the U.S. would be in better shape if every one of us had to dedicate two years to serving our country. Not everyone would end up in the military, but most would. It would just be a fact of life: after high school, you put in your two years' service -- or maybe you defer it for a few years to go to college, but you still have to do it.

The "megamix" characterization is a bit unfair, if only because of the negative connotations that epithet brings. Basically, the Martins have found ways to blend certain songs together in ways that usually make some kind of sense, at least sonically. The material that's flown in from other songs is done so seamlessly, and often I find myself nodding at how well it works. Not every combination works, but overall I'd say that it's very tastefully and lovingly executed by the only man I'd trust to do this sort of thing right. The overall effect is a kind of greatest-hits album on steroids, ye

I think Smith will do just fine in the NFL. In addition to being a great athlete, he really seems to understand the position. I don't think his possible height disadvantage (he's listed around 6'1" but may only be 5'11") will end up being that big of a deal. If he doesn't go in the first round, someone's going to get themselves a heck of a steal in the second.

That's probably good for parties on all sides -- the Dodgers, Nomar, and Mia.

Yes, overreaching to make a point. In truth, the WMU-CMU rivalry has often been more about which campus can sustain more damage following the game. But still, that matchup at least feels like a bona fide rivalry, and ND-USC just never has to me. The fact that they're 1,817 miles away from each other doesn't help.

Those measures have nothing to do with a rivalry between schools. Sure, USC-ND is a good game most of the time it's played, but it's just not a rivalry on the level of Michigan-Ohio State, Michigan-Notre Dame, Florida-Georgia, Florida-Florida State, Auburn-Alabama, or heck, even Western Michigan-Central Michigan. Yes, that's right -- I believe WMU vs. CMU is a much better rivalry than ND-USC.

I don't.

Preposterous. ND-Michigan is better than ND-USC. And UM-OSU beats them both by a mile.

Wow, no idea. They're definitely not American, though (pronunciation of "past").

It's OK, I finally got off my ass and joined BootCity, which I hadn't done before. At first I thought you were referring to a Dime torrent that I couldn't find, since that's what I asked for a link to. Speaking of which, I just have to say that I HATE Dime's search engine.

Thanks for the link.

Poor Shawn Crable. He's been one of the best players on Michigan's defense this year, really becoming something of a breakout star -- but people will probably remember him best for that boneheaded, incredibly stupid helmet-to-helmet hit on Troy Smith as he was going out of bounds, which kept the final OSU touchdown drive alive. Hopefully he'll end up having a successful NFL career and can get past that. That's not to say I've completely forgiven him for making the dumbest mistake of the whole game.

Seriously. Nothing says "I'm a big tool" like lashing out at your critics, regardless of how idiotic they may be. Colin Meloy* and Ryan Adams could both use some schooling in this area. And that's coming from a big Ryan fan. * - Assuming he actually did respond to Ott.

dime link? I didn't see it up there.

Yes, he said that. This is just one of the many reasons I fucking hate Brent Musburger. It's not that the Blue aren't looking so good ... it's that OSU is looking that much better. Glad to get that second U-M touchdown, though -- there's some hope yet.