Jimmy Page is one of rock music’s true visionaries, a legendary performer, studio wizard, maybe a wizard in the magical sense, and plain and simply, a man.   Jimmy Page:  Magus Musicina Man An Unauthorized Biography, this book is his story.  Dig deeper into the legend, and get a clearer vision from myth and fact with author George Case.  Click on the book to buy your copy!!

COMING SOON — THE FULL- UNEDITED INTERVIEW WITH GEORGE CASE

Next Tuesday, one of Neil Young’s Gem concerts from early in his career will be released in stores and digitally, but you can hear it for FREE RIGHT NOW

Just short of his 23rd Birthday; in between Buffalo Springfield’s Break-up and his Debut 1st Album, Young performed an Acoustic Set that was immortalized with the release of the song Sugar Mountain. A compilation of his 2 night stand Sugar Moutain: Live at Canterbury House 1968 gets released Tuesday, December 2nd.

One other note, Neil Young will be in Chicago at the Allstate Arena Tuesday December 9th.  There are still excellent tickets available, albeit EXPENSIVE.  Get them HERE The setlist for this tour looks really good, including a cover of the Beatles “A Day in the Life” to end the night.

Sure the markets are down, the economy is in the crapper, and your 401K envelope is best left unopened to avoid nightmares, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to NOT celebrate Christmas!  One of the hot items expected this year are HDTVs.  Prices are expected to be slashed in 1/2 on Black Friday, and may stay that way (or close to it) throughout the season.  42 in. plasmas are going for as little as $500!  But be careful, an HD-TV is a big investment, and you don’t want to just jump on a sale offer without taking a deeper look into the world of HD.  So here’s a friendly checklist of what to look for when buying your first HDTV.

FIRST THINGS FIRST:  LCD or PLASMA. Both are good viable options.  Plasma is heavier, and usually has a better contrast ratio, but LCDs have come a long way, are usually thinner, and last longer.

2) RESOLUTION — The higher the better.  1080p is the best.  Don’t go below 720.

3) CONTRAST RATIO — The difference between light and dark.  Again, the higher the better.  Look for 10,000 – 1, or higher.  Could vary depending on your choice of plasma or LCD.

4) STANDARD DEFINITION — Make sure your new TV will still play standard TV signals (those not in HD), as well as VHS and old DVDs.  Otherwise, it’ll look really bad.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, go back to the good old days of TV shopping and TRUST YOUR EYES.  Look and see which TVs look the best to you, and don’t be afraid to bring one of your favorite DVDs to the store and ask the clerk to put it on for you to see how it looks on your possible new investment.

(NOTE:  I’m in the market for my first HD-TV, and these were things I thought would be helpful in my quest.  I am definitely not a Technical no-it-all.  So feel free to send me a comment or E-mail and correct me, or give me better advices.  Below are some links that I got my information from that may serve as more help.)

HD TV ratings what to look for when buying

LCD versus PLASMA

LCD and PLASMA advantage and disadvantages

That Magic Moment! The BEST moment of my life.

Lighting the Unity Candle.

Mrs. Shap!!

Our 1st Dance. Big thanks to friend of the show, Joey Figgiani who did a great job on our song!

That's JC's boy Jake, our ring bearer with his Uncle Shappy

JC trying to keep Jake from running to the train or the nearest stick!

The thing you ABSOLUTELY must do if going to Costa Rica, ZIPLINING!

There's me covered in mud exfoliating (big word!!) my skin! After showering off, you go into the natural hot springs!

White-Faced Monkey taken from the tree tops of the canopies on the zipline tour

(Thanks to digital zoom) a Great shot of monkey on the walkway to the beach of our resort.

The Beach of Playa Conchal (a public beach -- just through the gate of our resort)

We seriously didn’t want to leave.  It was paradise.  The BEST vacation!!

Here’s the resort we stayed at

a large Cub Hat goes on the Picasso in Downtown Chicago

Yes, I have friends who are Cub Fans. That's Scratch and Telly dressed in Cubby Blue.

So earlier today, Cub Fans had a rally for their team.  Yeah, I know it was a MLB sponsored rally (they did this in every city with a team in the playoffs), but is there really a reason to celebrate early?  Yes, this could be the best Cubs team you’ve ever seen, but they haven’t won anything yet!  They probably have the best team in the postseason, but why not wait until you get into the world series to start the party.  And to top it off, this rally is the same day the White Sox are hosting a play-in game to make the playoffs!  Kind of crappy if you ask this Sox fan.

Sarah Palin has shot through the stratosphere!  Not only is she a VP candidate, she’s a comet in the pop culture universe.  Tina Fey does a great impersonation on SNL.  John McCain thinks she’d make a better guest than himself on Late Night TV.  There’s video of her in a swimsuit for a Miss Alaska Pagent from 1984 floating around the net (check out JC’s Blog for that).  And Now THIS!!  An Artist paints a nude portrait of her standing on a Polar-Bear Skin Rug holding an assault rifle, and it’s hanging in a bar on the North Side of Chicago!! 

Read More Here    Kind of disturbing that the guy who painted this, says his daughter (who looks like Palin) was what he used as a model for the Governor’s Body (Disgusting.  Hopefully she was clothed).

Certain advocate groups are talking about a National Age Restriction on Driver’s License.  Currently, states mandate how old you have to be in order to drive on your own.  In some states it’s as low at 14 and 1/2 (crazy!!) 

Illinois is still 16 to drive on your own, but you may not know the New GRADUATED DRIVER LICENSE LAWS that went into effect in the beginning of the year.  Did you know that anyone under the age of 19 is NOT ALLOWED to use their cell phone while driving unless there’s an emergency?  Or that there’s a limited number of passengers allowed in a vehicle driven by anyone 18 or younger?  Or the times they’re allowed to be behind the wheel? 

READ THEM ALL HERE