^^^ Glad to be of service, John.

Spam, egg, spam, spam, spam, bacon and spam.

Wrong? Heavens to betsy, no! There are no wrong questions. I was merely amused that the phrase wasn't as well-known as I assumed. I keep forgetting that what's prevalent in the U.S. isn't necessarily common elsewhere. You still see shirts with that slogan and others similar all over this country...and bumper stickers. America has millions of cars and those cars have bumpers...bumpers that need stickers. Stickers with pithy slogans...political slogans, religious ones, sexual innuendos, "My kid is an honour student", "My kid can beat up your honour student"...it's a veritable smorgasbord out there. Another common sight on automobiles are the Calvin taking a piss graphics...Calvin being the little kid from the "Calvin & Hobbes" comic strip.

"When you're chewing on life's gristle, don't grumble, give a whistle...Always look on the bright side of life..."

Are you just now reading the Harry Potter series for the first time, Kiwi, or are you rereading these? Do you refer to the Donna Tartt novel? That was one of the best books of the 90s. An impressive debut, no doubt.

I hope you were joking. Even so, it wasn't remotely funny. As one who has reaped the benefits of the kindness and attention of many hardworking nurses, I have nothing but praise for the job they do and have never encountered anything close to what you suggest in your post.

Well, it won't be "Magic in the Moonlight", that's for sure. Meh.

Nope. Actually, a half hour later, I went for a brisk swim. Then I worked until well past midnight. Today, lunch is more goodies picked up from the farmers market. Fresh shaved beets with goat cheese and pecans. Pita chips and red pepper hummus. Green tea with lemon and honey. Thanks for the lemonade recipe...sounds perfect.

I had no idea there was any question about the phrase "Nurses Do It Better"! That whole "____ do it better" meme has been around forever...or at least since the 70s. Fill in the blank with any group you want...nurses, cheerleaders, teachers, dogs, whatever. There was also the whole "Fireman have bigger hoses", "Cops have bigger sticks", yada yada yada t-shirt/bumper sticker craze. Yes, the "IT" is sex. No, it had nothing to do with Led Zeppelin specifically...Robert wasn't the only one who wore that shirt.

No one expects the Spanish Inquisition! Okay, so there was a sizable lack of interest/enthusiasm here for the Monty Python reunion (sans Graham Chapman) shows at the O2 Arena in July. Otherwise, I would have expected some of the British forum members here to post their reviews (if they went) or some newspaper accounts. Back in the day, there was considerable overlap between the Led Zeppelin fans and the Monty Python fans, and Led Zeppelin themselves partially funded some of the Monty Python projects. Now I have a chance to see for myself if it was up to snuff...and for free. The final date of the 10-day run at the O2 was filmed and is being shown in theatres around the world, including the American Cinematheque in L.A., as part of their Monty Python retrospective. http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/content/monty-python-live-mostly Interesting that the O2 Arena has now hosted two of the biggest reunions of the 21st Century.

All that being said, if pressed I think "Scott 4" is my favourite Scott Walker album...but that could easily change if you ask me next week... ...or last year, when my answer might have been "Scott 3".

Happy birthday to Mr. Wizard...alwizard! I hope you are celebrating your day by going to a show, Al! Cheers!

From one Strider to another, "Cheers mate!"

YOU FUCKING ROCK GLYN!!!! Thank You. Hell yeah, THIS is the real shit! Glen Buxton! Michael Bruce! Neal Smith! Dennis Dunaway! FTW!!! Alice should have been arrested for the criminal act of breaking up this band...he was never as good post-1974.

Yesterday was Louis Armstrong's birthday...August 4, 1901. There are not enough superlatives to describe the genius and impact of Louis Armstrong on jazz and American culture at large. Duke Ellington is his only rival as far as importance in putting American music on the map. A true American Original. Legend. Woody Allen famously said Louis Armstrong's "Potato Head Blues" was one of the things that make life worth living...he was absolutely right. Happy Belated Birthday Satchmo!

Scott Walker is one of those classic "love it or hate it" type of artist...there really is no middle ground. Your reaction will be one or the other. Since the reactions to his music or so personal, I can't really guide you...what I like, you may not and vice versa. He is really someone it is best to just discover on your own at your own speed. Be your own guide. Start with his first records and progress from there. That's what is great about youtube...you can sample his songs on there before committing to buying an album. Good luck and enjoy the ride...the journey is half the fun.

Check it out...GAME OF THRONES RED ALE! Choose your dragon...

Berries (straw-, blue-, and black-), an orange, a couple of white peaches, and some carrots...all bounty from my visit to the farmers market yesterday. CP, I know you love Indian food as much as I and I wanted to share a great recipe for lamb vindaloo that I cooked for a party recently. Clay Oven's Spicy Habanero Lamb Vindaloo 1 large or 2 small habanero chiles, seeded and chopped 2 tablespoons vinegar 1 (2-inch) piece of fresh ginger, minced 8 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups water, divided, plus more for grinding the ginger and garlic and thinning the gravy if needed 2 tomatoes, finely chopped 1/4 cup grated coconut 1/4 cup rice bran or canola oil, divided 4 bay leaves 8 black peppercorns 1 cinnamon stick 4 cloves 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 2 pods green cardamom, smashed 3 white onions, finely chopped 1 whole dry red Kashmiri chile 1 tablespoon coriander powder 1 teaspoon turmeric 2 pounds lean lamb, cut into roughly 1-inch cubes salt to taste 1 tablespoon cumin powder 8 (1 inch ) cubes boiled, peeled potato 2 tomatoes, cut into quarters 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided Step 1 Soak the seeded, chopped chile in the vinegar for a few minutes to soften, then grind to a paste (a mortar and pestle work well for this). Grind the ginger and garlic as well to a paste, adding a little water if needed to soften. Finally, use a blender to purée the finely chopped tomatoes and coconut together with 1 cup of the water. Step 2 In a large, heavy-bottomed sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil over high heat until hot. Add the bay leaves, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, cloves, cumin seeds and cardamom, and toast for a minute or so, just until aromatic, being careful not to burn the spices. Stir in the onions, then the ginger and garlic paste, the Kashmiri chile, coriander powder and turmeric. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are golden brown, about 20 minutes. If the gravy begins to thicken too much and dry out, and/or the onions begin to stick, stir in water, a little at a time, and continue cooking. Step 3 Remove the pan from the heat and spoon the spiced onion mixture into a bowl. Place the pan back over high heat and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the lamb pieces and sear on all sides until well-browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and place the lamb pieces on a plate. Add the spiced onion mixture back to the pan and heat over medium heat, scraping any lamb flavoring from the base of the pan. Step 4 At this point, taste the mixture, adding salt to taste. Remove the whole spices if desired (the gravy can also be puréed at this point for a smoother consistency). Stir the lamb into the gravy along with the cumin powder and habanero paste. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, to marry the flavors, 2 to 3 minutes, then stir in the puréed tomatoes and coconut. Add the remaining cup of water. Step 5 Continue cooking until the lamb is fully cooked, an additional 10 to 15 minutes. When the lamb is almost ready, stir in the potatoes and quartered tomatoes, along with one-half of the chopped cilantro. Taste again, seasoning as desired before serving. Serve the vindaloo garnished with the remaining chopped cilantro.

So, like many other actors, your best work was left on the cutting-room floor.

Good question, Emily. I did have ambitions to be a journalist, especially after reading "All the President's Men" by Woodward & Bernstein in Junior High. But I guess life had other plans for me, as I was never able to find work as a reporter and other passions took root and other avenues opened up. I appreciate your (and other recent readers such as Pagefan55, SINS, and BecZep) compliments. Hartelijk dank.

Interesting. It was very close but I used to prefer "You Shook Me" to "I Can't Quit You Baby". Steadily over time, however, I found myself gravitating more towards ICQYB's charms...it's brevity, it's more nuanced vocals, Bonham's crisp hi-hat. I wavered back-and-forth over the years between the two, but with these latest remasters, I have been able to hear them again with fresh ears. I vote for ICQYB...and it was the revelation of Jonesey's bassline that cinched it. For some reason, I had never paid much attention to the bass before on the song, partly because it was muddled on past cd releases...it didn't have the clarity of Page's guitar or Bonham's drums. But now it sounds clear as a bell, with nice depth and round full tones. In fact, how much I enjoyed ICQYB was one of the biggest treats/surprises I had listening to the new reissued first album. Incidentally, YSM and ICQYB share some similarities. Both are Willie Dixon blues standards and both are the penultimate songs on their respective sides and have nary a break between them and the following song; YSM segues immediately into D & C and ICQYB and HMMT are likewise linked. Both feature sizzling tone from Mr. Page.

HELL YEAH! Maybe my new favourite band, haha! This is some serious EVIL GENIUS shit. One of the reasons I got tired of metal was the proliferation of all these sourpussed-doom 'n' gloom-Cookie Monster-voice bands. The whole Norwegian Death Metal thing was the worst...they weren't scary, they were laughable. Musically and lyrically, metal just hit a dead-end for me. I am bummed I had to miss Babymetal's recent show in L.A. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-babymetal-fonda-20140728-story.html

Not only is Charlie Watts a great drummer with the Stones, but I had the pleasure and privilege of seeing him in a jazz setting when he played a Charlie Parker tribute concert, "Ode to a High Flying Bird" in 1992. Too many people seem to get hung up on drum solos when evaluating drummers, but I always admired Charlie Watts' restraint and lack of gratuitous flash. He always played what suited the song...nothing more, nothing less. Always just right.

Just not the same without the Big Man, Clarence Clemons...not to mention Danny Federici. Though Bruce is still energetic in concert, I don't find his recent albums as rewarding as his early ones from "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J." thru "Darkness on the Edge of Town". Like with Bob Dylan, I'm a little tired of him. I have many memories of some thrilling Bruce concerts...from the Santa Monica Civic in '73 to the Sports Arena in 2007...but I doubt I will pay the money to see him again.

Is PlanetPage still around? Happy Birthday PlanetPage, wherever you are!