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I've been on a Flecktones kick lately, as I'm going to see them tomorrow ("opening" for Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers). I saw Bela play with Tony Rice back in '93, and saw the Flecktones in 07. Howard Levy is back, the so-called "Man with two brains" because he plays piano and harmonica simultaneously, which just boggles my poor little pea-brain.

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VT'er wrote:Wow, Beatles, Bela Fleck, and Buddy Holly.

Maybe I should actually read "Idle Chatter" more frequently.

...

Uh-oh ... Bee Gees ... OK I always appreciate appropriate alliteration but that just about ruined it for me.

VT'er, I separate their early music from the disco and post disco works. I tolerate the Bee Gees only from their first recordings.

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Not sure if it was back to back days or just one day, but I know I saw Bob Hope and The Bee Gees in the same edition of The Ohio State Fair back in 1968.

I remember an event of that fair that I liked more than Bob Hope included "Danny Fleener and His Hurricane Hell Drivers."

They ran cars at top speeds around the dirt harness track at the grandstand and put them up on two wheels and continued to maneuver effectively for great distances.

I also enjoyed the guy who climbed down a rope ladder from an airborne helicopter aloft and did stunts. One included him hanging by his teeth from the bottom rung as the helicopter flew.

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IT’S OFFICIAL: 92.3 The Fan Debuts 8/29

AUGUST 4, 2011 BY OHIOMEDIAWATCH 6 COMMENTS
We apologize if this sounds a bit familiar. Heh.
CBS Radio has officially announced the start of “Sports Radio 92.3 The Fan” on August 29.
Here’s the press release as sent to OMW this morning. We’ll have more detailed analysis and our thoughts later today…
————
SPORTS RADIO 92.3 THE FAN, CLEVELAND’S FIRST AND ONLY FM SPORTS STATION,
MAKES ITS DEBUT ON MONDAY, AUG. 29
Andy Roth Named as Program Director
Beginning on Monday, Aug. 29, Cleveland sports fans will have a bold new choice for news and information about their favorite sports teams. Sports Radio 92.3 The Fan (WKRK-FM) will feature locally produced programs hosted by familiar Cleveland voices, along with headline updates every 20 minutes and a full lineup of NFL and college football play-by-play coverage. The station will be available on-air, on-line at www.923TheFan.com and via the Radio.com application for a variety of mobile devices.
Additionally, Andy Roth has been named as Program Director of the CBS RADIO station. He joins 92.3 The Fan from Buffalo’s WGR, and also has experience at legendary sports properties WFAN in New York and WIP in Philadelphia.
Roth said, “What we are launching is literally a radio station for ‘The Fan.’ For Clevelanders who live and breathe sports 24/7 this will be the place to get the best insight, most in-depth coverage and a well-rounded balance of listener participation all presented in an entertaining forum.”
Nationally-known talent Kevin Kiley will team up with Cleveland’s own Chuck Booms weekday mornings from 6:00-10:00AM for the area’s only local morning drive sports-talk show. Kiley & Booms previously co-hosted a national show on the Fox Sports Radio Network. Adam “The Bull”, formerly of WFAN in New York, will fill the afternoon drive time slot from 3:00-7:00PM. The remainder of The Fan lineup will be announced at a later date.
92.3 The Fan will also be the new home for Westwood One’s coverage of the NFL including all but one of the national football broadcasts on Thursday, Sunday and Monday nights; and Big 10 football. Additional programming will include postgame shows immediately following all the local professional football, basketball and baseball games, as well as appearances by players, coaches, and media experts.
Senior Vice President/Market Manager, CBS RADIO Cleveland Tom Herschel added, “CBS RADIO is the leader when it comes to the all-sports format. Having the pioneering station (WFAN) among our portfolio along with a number of new entrants to the FM dial in major markets across the country we are confident we know what it takes to make this move a success in Cleveland.”
In addition to WKRK-FM in Cleveland, CBS RADIO owns and operates all-sports stations in 14 other markets, including seven of the Top 10 markets, which reach more than 3.5 million Men 25-54 each week (Arbitron, Fall 2010 National Database):
New York (WFAN-AM) Washington, D.C. (WJFK-FM) Charlotte (WFNZ-AM)
Chicago (WSCR-AM) Boston (WBZ-FM) Pittsburgh (KDKA-FM)
Dallas (KRLD-FM) Detroit (WXYT-AM/FM) Riverside (KVFG-FM)
Houston (KILT-AM) Tampa (WQYK-AM) Sacramento (KHTK-AM)
Philadelphia (WIP-AM) Baltimore (WJZ-FM/WJZ-AM)

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Just over a month following his announced split from Elisabetta Canalis, George Clooney is now dating actress Stacy Keibler, multiple sources confirm to US Weekly.
“It’s more than just a fling,” (said) one insider close to Keibler.
(They’ve) known each other “four or five years,” the insider adds, and recently “reached out to one another through a mutual friend.”
Since becoming romantic, the pair have been spending time together in London and at Clooney’s Lake Como spread in Italy.
“They’re basically exclusive at this point,” explains the insider. “They like each other’s sense of humor. Obviously they’re both physically attracted to one another.”

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I threw a hundred bucks on a horse at Del Mar in a race today and lost. Just to stay honest here.

The bitch was that I know the guy well who trains the winner of a late race at Santa Rosa today.


His horse, Goggles McCoy paid over $20 on a $2 bet.


I kicked myself for not having him today....despite his recent losing streak.....when I saw the conditions and competitors in retrospect.

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Is it “bad” if LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul don’t tip?
Matt Moore Aug 6, 2011, 10:30 PM EDT
23 Comments

Reuters
Step carefully, children. We’re near the edge of a dangerous ledge.

So NBA players not tipping is not a breaking story. It’s been talked about for ages. Fairly often it comes with certain racial implications that are fairly well documented (or at least claims thereof have been). But instead of going down that road, let’s start with how this is currently relevant. On Jason Whitlock of FoxSports.com’s podcast, a well-respected Las Vegas columnist shared the following story, as quoted by IamaGM.com:

“People at the Cosmopolitan said when Chris Paul had his bachelor party here last month, he had LeBron in and the whole gang. They were comped well into the morning. The word is that they never left a tip for any night that they were out getting comped. We’ve heard that about LeBron, that’s been common. I’m sure you’ve heard the nicknames that Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen had out here. The dealers called him “Hoardin’ Jordan”, and Pippen was “Scottie No-tippin’ Pippen”.

via Las Vegas insiders claim that NBA superstars (LeBron, Melo, Wade) refused to tip at Chris Paul’s bachelor party | IamaGM.com.

So that’s fun.

There’s no point in getting into the racial implications, because this is a basketball blog and I’m not a well-tenured professor on race relations in this country, plus I’m definitely not here to make any sort of high and mighty or insightful headway using this ridiculously stupid topic that could be inaccurate. From a practical perspective, even if the racial implications did create a cultural divide based on an income gap, you would think that would be somewhat effected by the millions and millions (and millions) of dollars these guys started making when they were 18-21. They make so much that to tip, even at a standard rate of 20% for meals and however you determine drink tips (I always heard a buck per drink plus 10% on the tab, but then, I drink in tiny, terrible bars that usually have Natty Light on tap), isn’t going to so much as phase them. Money means nothing to them, that’s pretty obvious from their lifestyle and approach to spending (they’re not wasteful, but we can tell from media reports these guys like to have a good time). So then there’s this question.

Do they not tip because it’s an ethical decision, or is simply a case of oversight and being inconsiderate?

You’ll remember Mr. Pink from the Quentin Tarantino classic “Reservoir Dogs” not tipping out of principle. It was his contention that it’s the service staff member’s choice to work in that profession, and that they shouldn’t be rewarded extra simply for doing their job. It should be noted that in all likelihood Mr. Pink is shot at the end of the film. I believe this is what LeBron James would refer to as “karma.” Is it the case that James, Anthony, and Wade, who are treated like gods nearly everywhere they go, who are waited on hand and foot, really don’t tip because they don’t feel it’s right? Or is it more likely a simple oversight wrought of arrogance? You have to think it’s the latter.

Even if there was an ethical reason for the players not to provide a reasonable tip, it would be overshadowed by the sheer amount of money they have and the service they demand. But maybe that’s the key here. What if the service really was that bad? What if they did not receive the sterling personal attention they were expecting?

Even still, a small tip should probably be considered. Maybe they just thought it was added onto the bill. In that case, shouldn’t you leave something additional anyway, considering the amount of time and attention your party no doubt drew?

One more thing. The idea that this is an NBA-general thing is definitively not true in my experience. A few years ago I spoke with the waitstaff at the Cheesecake Factor at Ceasar’s Palace in Las Vegas (I was broke and in Las Vegas for work, this is what you end up doing). The staff there told me how Rasheed Wallace would routinely eat at the bar while his wife shopped and that he always tipped exceptionally well. Same story for Shaquille O’Neal, and Donte Greene. Kobe Bryant is known to be a decent tipper as well. So it’s not everyone. But these guys, apparently, are the exception.

This should help James and Wade’s public opinion greatly.

Also, who doesn’t tip at a bachelor party? Seriously, guys. It’s a bachelor party. You’re supposed to show off and be nice to everyone because you’re acting like morons.

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It's that time of year again, when I make a trek to Glacier National Park and tell everyone how nice it is and you should visit if you've never. This time I took a little hike to "Avalanche Lake". Not the best views of the park but not too bad at all....
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J.R.:

You might notice all those trees laying on the shore. The lake, as you can imagine, is nestled in the valley between mountains, and gets it's name because of the avalanches there. As I was hiking up I noticed that trees on the mountain on one side of the lake was laying down in the same direction as the trees on the mountain on the other side. In other words, it looked as if the trees on one mountain side got knocked upward, know what I mean?

Well a ranger explained to us why. The force of the avalanche on one mountain was so great that the wind and force from it blew the trees down on the other mountain side.

Absolutely amazing ... the power of those things.

Here is a picture of it to show you what I mean. The trees were laying down going uphill....
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