I'm guessing by that statement that you preferred the silent version to the sound remake then? FYI, that vicious little bastard was played by Harry Earles, member of the legendary Doll Family aka The Dancing Dolls. You should recognize Harry Earles from another Tod Browning classic, "Freaks". Also, he was a member of the Lollipop Guild in "The Wizard of Oz"...that's Harry on the far right in the blue shirt:

Don't think this story got much "play" in the American media when it happened, but unfortunately it happens much too often. I am always surprised and admiring of parents than can stay calm and restrained in cases like this. I am afraid that if that was me I would be engulfed in rage and try to take justice in my own hands.

Oh dear...while I was playing all day at the beach yesterday, I missed Ally's birthday. Too late for the party, I still send best birthday wishes to you, Ally, kind sir. May your back aches be tamed. Many happy returns of the day. Happy birthday to the chase, too!

You are aware that there is a thread in the News section currently in progress (at 109 pages at last count) that discusses this very subject? Nice job mangling your thread title, too. It wouldn't hurt to do a little search...and some proofreading...before posting.

Well Bong-Man, Detroit fans won't have William Clay Ford to kick around anymore. The owner of the Detroit Lions has gone up to the gridiron-in-the-sky. R.I.P. http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-79574441/

Au contraire, mon frère. Time is something that I am in short supply. Otherwise I could get cracking on my Led Zeppelin book. Hell, it's Wednesday and I'm only now getting to read the newspaper from Monday and Tuesday, along with today's.

Considering the number of times Bonzo followed the beat, this is a funny thread.

Did you turn into Annie all of a sudden?

What the hell happened to Darrelle Revis? Has anyone fallen so far so fast? It's as if as soon as he left the Jets he lost his mojo. His contract is too toxic for anyone to want him. Which makes him perfect for the Raiders. Sorry for your loss, Walter. Thought D Ware would be a Cowboy for life.

"Amélie" is a beautiful romantic movie...a great "date-movie". Paris, and Montmartre in particular, have seldom looked better. Some actresses are born to play a role, they inhabit it so completely...Audrey Tautou was born to play Amélie. It helps, of course, if you enjoy whimsy. I saw it five or six times the year it was released and usually try to see it once a year...so I have probably seen it at least 20 times since 2001. A marvelous soundtrack by Yann Tiersen, too! Also watch for the great clip of Sister Rosetta Tharpe!

"Amelie" is one of my absolute faves...I was a fan of "Delicatessen" and "City of Lost Children" but still was unprepared for how exquisitely charming "Amelie" would be. Of course it lost the Best Foreign Film Oscar to a film whose name escapes me. As for "Nebraska", many people don't care for Alexander Payne's type of humour, so you're not alone. Whenever I heard someone complain about "Nebraska" it was usually that they didn't find it funny. I have seen way too many movies to encapsulate briefly here...I'll have to pick the very best ones I have seen lately to share with the forum.

Yep. All you need is macaroni (or some type of noodle), cheese, and butter. Ultimate comfort food. Had baja-style tacos at Best Fish Taco in Ensenada, an amazing taco joint on Hillhurst. They only serve two items...a shrimp taco and a fish taco...both perfecto! A wide variety of home-made salsas and slaws to top your tacos with. Topped my fish taco with an avocado salsa and the shrimp taco with a mango salsa.

No offense, no worries. Rick, you now have something in common with Keith Richards...a blood transfusion! Stay positive.

Abbey Road, Royal Albert Hall, the Marquee, Earls Court are a must. Arcade Fire are playing Earls Court in June, so it hasn't been demolished yet. Hammersmith Odeon is another legendary music venue. You should also try to find the room where they first rehearsed in 1968...John Paul Jones mentions it in one of his interviews. At any rate, you should have a blast. Avail yourself to all the great pubs and sample the many fine ales and beers brewed in the UK. Don't you dare waste time ordering a Budweiser. Blech. Lots of fantastic Indian restaurants in London, too. England isn't just fish n chips and shepherd's pie.

Correctomundo!

That's good to hear. I'm a little worried about one thing, Rick, and that is your meds. I hope you don't get addicted to the pain meds as so many people seem to do and end up abusing them.

You're correct, ebk. Woody and McConaughey won't be back next season. Different cast and there will also be a different director for each episode, instead of one director doing the whole season.

I'll put you in my will...but my Zeppelin collection is already spoken for.

I know I am in the minority but I have no use for any of those three vocalists you mention...Myles, Paul Rodgers, David Coverdale...all get a big yawn from me and I have no interest in seeing Jimmy with any of them. Personally, I would rather he hook up with someone like PJ Harvey or Beck(no, not that Beck, the other one) or Mark Kozelek. That would be far more interesting to me. The others would just be tired classic rock rehash.

Exactly my line of thinking, too. Given the hands-on quality control Jimmy Page exerted on Led Zeppelin, it doesn't follow that he would not be involved in something as important as the sound of Led Zeppelin's concerts and let underlings handle without his supervision. Maybe in 1977 when the Zeppelin camp was in drugged-out disarray, but I can't believe during the period from 1968-1975 that they would leave it to chance. And there is no way anyone is going to convince me that Led Zeppelin didn't soundcheck Knebworth. A gig of that stature and importance and you're going to try and tell me the band didn't soundcheck? No fucking way!

Why do you think I said it was a matter of contention? Just as there are people who say they didn't, there are those who say they did, and both groups include people connected with the band so it's impossible to know which side has more validity. However, we have photos of the band doing a soundcheck from Minneapolis, 1975. I think I have also seen soundcheck photos from 1971 Japan and either 1971 or 1972 LA Forum. Then there's the tape that was released as "Tribute to Johnny Kidd & the Pirates", where the band runs through a bunch of oldies and "Night Flight", "Rover" and "Wanton Song" during a 1973 soundcheck. I want to hear it from Jimmy, Robert or Jones themselves before I believe that they didn't do regular soundchecks.

^^^ Only 5 of the test pressings but according to my source at Classic Records, 200 Led Zeppelin "Road Case" Trunks were made. These have 48 12" 45rpm one-sided 200g super vinyl discs...8 discs each for the double albums(Physical Graffiti and TSRTS) and 4 per single album. The sound is the best you will ever hear Led Zeppelin. Don't let this out of your sight! You've got a keeper here...treat it like it was gold. How on earth did you score one of these? Was it an eBay bid? You didn't just find one in a record store, did you? Lucky sod.

I've always had at least one pair of checkered Vans slip-ons in my closet since the 1970s. Most comfortable shoe ever.

Yes, my December '72 boots "Riot House" and "Disturbance House" sound like the Ally Pally was pretty horrible...boomy and echoey. Can we also throw in the Empire Pool at Wembley as another London venue that sucked acoustically? This seems to a matter of some contention and my request to Dave Lewis, Sam Rapello, Luis Rey, or anyone who writes the next book on Led Zeppelin is to get to the bottom of the soundcheck question. Personally I find it hard to believe they wouldn't soundcheck. Jimmy Page doesn't strike me as someone who would leave the matter of sound quality and control up to chance like that. Nor John Bonham. I know some people have claimed Led Zeppelin didn't do soundchecks but Danny Goldberg says in his book that the band, and John Bonham in particular, were keen on getting the sound just right for their shows. Perhaps on multi-date stands in one venue they might only soundcheck the first show and once they got the levels set, it was left up to the road crew the other nights to check. Since we have photos and tape of the band soundchecking, it's obvious that they did do soundchecks at some shows. But it is a subject that has yet to be thoroughly investigated in any discussion of Led Zeppelin's concert history. Go to any show today and if you get there early enough, you will usually hear the band soundchecking around 3 or 4pm. Most Led Zep books and even their own movie TSRTS gives fans the impression that they just flew into town right before a concert and took limos from the airport to the arena. Which is an exaggeration, I think. It's surprising in all these years nobody has ever asked Jimmy, Robert or JPJ about their soundcheck schedule. Richard Cole is another person who would have that information...if his memory is reliable at this point.