DrW

And now for something completely different...

Abbie Carmichael on Law & Order

A Stidham story (which, admittedly, does not have much to do with the original question). In 2014, Stidham was a senior in Stephenville HS (then ranked #1 among 4A schools in Texas). At that time, he had committed to Texas Tech (located in Lubbock, TX). Stephenville was hosting a high school from the Lubbock suburbs, Lubbock-Cooper. The previous year, Stephenville had beaten Lubbock-Cooper 42-28 in the state quarterfinals. ESPN thought this could make a nice story and decided to air the game nationwide on ESPN2. Stidham was pretty good, going 28/35 for 340 yds and 4 TDs. However, the Cooper QB, Kolton Ehlers, was even better. He accounted for 7 TDs (passing and running), and Cooper beat Stephenville 50-39. Why do I remember this? Both my kids went to Lubbock-Cooper HS. My son was a freshman in 2014 and was at the game, because he was in the Cooper "Pirates" band. Kolton Ehlers went to college at Texas Tech, but - to my knowledge - he did not play football. He graduated in 2019 and works at City Bank.

Based on recent experiences, I do not have much confidence in polls. But are you aware that the poll you quote is from 2014? Quinnipiac did the same poll in 2018. https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2526 Here, Obama had to give up the first place as "worst president after WWII". I guess you do not need much imagination to figure out the new number one.

Correct. Angela Merkel.

The one group with a similar style I can come up with is ELO. Thus, my guess would be The Move.

"living is easy - here in New York State" Mentioning Jazz/Rock/Fusion at the end of the 60' or the beginning of the 70s usually brings up Chicago (Transit Authority); Blood,Sweat and Tears; or the Mahavishnu orchestra. Here is the British contribution. Robert Wyatt's singing has been better on other occasions, but the rest is top-notch. I especially like the bass used as "lead guitar".

Another underrated band. Their interpretation of "The Weight" (first song in the link) is just as good as the the one from the Band. Spooky Tooth's version of "I am the walrus".

From their best album IMHO

Very early footage, nearly 2 years before their first album. Still as trio, without Jerry Harrison. David Byrne does not yet sound very confident.

One of their best taped concerts... Thanks to German public television

The jam band from Wales: Man - three of the songs are clocking in at more than 10 min

One of my favorites... The version on "Traffic - On The Road" is four minutes longer, and IMHO even better (no video available)

Not really a single song, but a mini-opera, according to Pete Townshend "the parent of 'Tommy'". The introduction is useful if you want to learn Portuguese.

Further perfection of the "Rover" from "The Prisoner".

Completely agree. We had our most recently faculty meeting via Zoom. At home, I am accustomed to run around without a shirt, as my wife likes the temperature Sahara-like. Fortunately, we switched off the video after about a minute to preserve bandwidth.

That comes pretty close to the German system. School is compulsory until grade 9 or 10 (depending on the state). Then you can opt for continuing high school (up to grades 12 or 13), which prepares you for college, or to enter an apprenticeship that prepares you for a career in a trade as plumber, baker, or carpenter. You may also enter the work force directly. 30 - 50% of students decide to finish high school. However, not all of them will look for a place in college. Some white collar apprenticeship programs (some for very lucrative jobs , such as banker) expect you to finish high school.

One sporting event actually did take place today, stage 7 of the Paris - Nice bike race. However, they cancelled stage 8 tomorrow. Winner of today's stage: Nairo Quintana COL; Arkea Samsic; overall winner: Max Schachmann GER; Bora-Hansgrohe

I came to the US in September 1990 as a postdoc at the University of Rochester. Each week on Monday, my coworkes in the lab would have lengthy discussions about the "Bills". I got curious and started to watch football on TV. Initially, it did not make any sense to me. After Superbowl XXV, the game, and the Bills grew on me, and I have been a Bills' fan since. In 2003, we moved to Texas. My son, although he was only 4 at the time of the move, is a staunch Bills fan.

I saw thew once live around 1974. The variety of instruments played by each band member was amazing.

Before ELP, there was The Nice

"...million years of evolution, and we get Danny Quayle"