Tom Waits (buy his stuff at amazon.com) has a voice like a sidewalk and a face to match. Self-deprecating, witty, stoic but hopeful, suitable for all occasions. Most anything by him is good, although his early work is a little weedy. Big Time (listen to samples, buy) is the live album to kick all other live albums. Most of all, no music collection is complete without Nighthawks at the Diner (listen to samples, buy). Nighthawks is funny, clever, wry and hip stuff -- could easily have come out today, not in 1975.

Posted by GeeTee at April 29, 2002 01:41 PM

Picture Yourself in Plastic via Kyle at kflood.net

Kyle also sent me a very good summer CD mix as part of burn, baby, burn. In fact, all the mixes I got were good, but I'm listening to Kyle's right now.

Posted by GeeTee at April 29, 2002 01:25 PM

ZDNet

The findings may come as a blow to Microsoft and AOL, which are attempting to drive customers to online authentication systems as the first step in establishing additional fee-based online services, such as Microsoft's .Net My Services plan. That plan, still on the drawing board, is intended to provide fee-based hosting and delivery of personal information while providing an array of services ranging from commerce to communication in partnership with Web retailers such as eBay. AOL is devising its own consumer Web services plan, code-named Magic Carpet.

Posted by GeeTee at April 29, 2002 01:13 PM

CBC News

Andrei Knyazev, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter this year in a Russian court, will head for a penal colony in Siberia after the May Day holiday. A panel of three judges took less than an hour to reject his lawyer's arguments that Knyazev's sentence should be suspended.

Posted by GeeTee at April 29, 2002 12:30 PM

( jnd.org )

To use toilet paper requires thought.

Posted by GeeTee at April 29, 2002 07:04 AM

newsbytes.com

"It has been noted that the electronic votes cast by the shareholders present with the largest number of votes were all systematically recorded as abstentions," the company said in a statement Sunday. "Verification with some of these shareholders, such as St Gobain, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas, has revealed that the abstentions recorded did not reflect the actual electronic vote, despite confirmation on their voting machine control panel."

Posted by GeeTee at April 29, 2002 06:25 AM

washingtonpost.com

"Even one act of abuse is too much," said Monsignor Peter Schonenbach, general secretary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. "No one will say to a priest who has abused that it is fine to continue. If a priest abuses, his whole life changes with that. If a priest has abused and a complaint comes in and the bishop knows about the abuse . . . from that day on, the priest's whole life will be different. He may remain a priest but will never do ministry again."

Posted by GeeTee at April 29, 2002 05:51 AM

VOANews.com

Madagascar has been in turmoil since Mr. Ravalomanana, mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, declared himself president in February. He alleged the election had been rigged and refused a court-ordered run-off vote, insisting he was the winner.

Posted by GeeTee at April 29, 2002 05:48 AM

BBC News | HEALTH

Speaking at a news conference in London, Mrs Pretty's husband Brian criticised the ruling and urged the public to back a campaign to lobby the government to change the law to allow voluntary euthanasia.

Posted by GeeTee at April 29, 2002 05:41 AM

Forbes.com

After several years of grandiose ambitions (and publicity), the producers of streaming media are trying to charge for content. But the dirty little secret is that few consumers are paying just for small and jerky images of ABC News' Peter Jennings and National Basketball Association stars on their desktops, as subscribers to RealNetworks' RealOne SuperPass get for just $10 a month. Many of them are more interested in fare like Jackin' Jill, another Vivid offering.

Posted by GeeTee at April 29, 2002 05:37 AM

nytimes.com

Fully one-third of the somatosensory cortex, the researchers found, is devoted to the mole-rat's incisors. But perhaps that is not so surprising given that in addition to eating, the teeth are used for digging, moving objects and interacting with other mole-rats.

Posted by GeeTee at April 29, 2002 05:35 AM

BBC News | AMERICAS | Brazil cardinal questions celibacy

He pointed out that the first pope, St Peter, was married.

Posted by GeeTee at April 29, 2002 05:31 AM

The Scotsman - Top Stories

Currently insulin, which is used to control blood glucose levels, has to be injected, as digestion of it would make it useless. Soon, however, it could be carried by an emulsion liquid, known as APSET, which is stable in the stomach's acidic conditions.

Posted by GeeTee at April 29, 2002 05:24 AM