RANDOM RICK-NESS

Recently came out of a fast food joint and noticed a ‘gleam’ in my driver’s side tire as I approached the car. “Oh no, a nail” I thought, as I rubbed my finger across the flattened piece of metal that was flush with the tire. Imagine my surprise when the tire-place repair tech came into the waiting room of his shop to show me ‘the nail’. It was actually a small screwdriver! The kind you’d use to tighten your eyeglasses. It made me wonder how long it had been embedded in my tire, the head of it was very worn down. It also made me think how lucky I have been, without even knowing it, because I had obviously been rolling at top speed along the interstates for who-knows-how-long without ‘the nail’ blowing my tire to shreds. Thank you Guardian Angels!

MORNING MUSINGS

Yeah, yeah, we've heard THIS ONE before, but there's a strong possibility that today's big iTunes announcement might be that the Beatles' elusive catalogue is finally heading online for download. Billboard.biz is claiming this, after a flurry of phone calls to key players. (So far, only the group's individual solo works are available on iTunes and other download providers.) Apple.com's front page has the phrase "Tomorrow is just another day," possibly in reference to Paul McCartney's first solo single "Another Day." Under that it reads: "That you'll never forget." Beneath that are four clocks showing the time of the announcement in California, New York, London, and Tokyo. And if you're really into clue-hunting, some say the hands on the clocks resemble the Beatles' "S.O.S." signals on their 1965 "Help!" album.

HERE'S the apple.com site homepage.

And HERE'S the scoop from Billboard.

At 68 years old, Sir Paul McCartney is still packing 'em in at stadiums around the globe. RollingStone.com says he sold out two shows in Buenos Aires. His three hour, 35-song set included material from the earliest days of the Fab Four through to his recent solo work. Who was in the crowd to see Sir Paul? Pop puppy Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers. The 21-year-old Tweeted, quote, "What a show.. Paul McCartney.. Argentina 60,000 people. Favorite song of the night.. Blackbird."

George Harrison's older sister Louise isn't at all surprised that the youngest set loves the Beatles. She says, quote, "Oh I've met so many of them at Beatle conventions, and, you know, the 12, 14 year olds, they're just as hysterical as their grandparents were back in '64. ...I'll say to them, 'Well, why are you into the Beatles? Don't you have your own music?' They say, 'Oh, the music that's supposed to be our music is so nasty and horrible, and we just don't want to have anything to do with it.' So there again, it's the nicer kids that are rejecting what's out there - the almost satanic stuff that's out there now - and turning to the Beatles." ...Rick is worried that, by calling them the "nicer kids" and talking about Satan, Louise will make those kids stop being Beatles fans...

I love me some football in the rain!!! But last night's game was a little unusual - no slip-sliding around, no loose balls all over the place, just lots and lots and lots of scoring, as Michael Vick and the Eagles embarrassed the Redskins 59 - 28. They broke records galore: total yards in a game - 592, points in a half - 45, and they had the biggest lead after the first quarter of any NFL road team. HERE

And our own Jeremy Maclin helped his team as well. HERE

Have you been trying to be a good boy or girl and use recycled bags? While you thought you were doing your part to help the environment, you were potentially giving yourself lead poisoning. Surprise! Senator Schumer of New York is asking for a federal investigation by the FDA of reusable bags, following a series by the "Tampa Tribune" in which the newspaper found lead in bags made in China. The concern is that lead in the bags could not only cause problems when you pitch 'em into landfills, but that they could cause problems for YOU by leaching lead into your food. Rick thinks this is China's way of toppling us: just put lead in every darn thing you send to the U.S. and, eventually, we'll be so weak and sick they can take whatever they want. HERE

Bon Jovi is celebrating the success of their album "The Circle" and the release of a "Best Of" compilation, they're always great to their fans, and they do tons of charity stuff. They're angels, right? Well, some say that in the early days they weren't exactly pure.

Their former tour manager Rich Bozzett wrote an unauthorized memoir about the band called 'Sex, Drugs and Bon Jovi." Bozzett says, quote "Jon has never wanted to talk about the band's early years, but now his fans can finally read - and see through never-before-released photographs - what life on the road was like. As tour manger, I lived with the band and saw it all - from the incredible fan support to how Jon and the band dealt with drugs, alcohol and sex." Bozzett alleges that Jon took drugs before shows and that the band was linked to one of the biggest drug smuggling operations in the U.S. at the time. He claims the band often had run-ins with airline security while they traveled, including strip searches of Jon, with the DEA involved. (I wish I'd worked for the DEA in those days...) Bozzett also shared a story that Jon once convinced a judge to take it easy on his manager Doc McGhee after McGhee was caught managing 20 TONS of marijuana. McGhee pleaded guilty to drug smuggling in 1987 and was looking at 20 years in prison, but Jon wrote a six-page letter to the judge, saying, quote "Your honor, Doc did in fact commit a crime, and I realize the severity of the case. But a man with his knowledge and commitment to the music industry can do so much good as a public servant." Jon suggested community service and volunteered to personally help oversee McGhee's work, which would include anti-drug education, PSAs and setting up charity concerts. Well, the judge was apparently a Bon Jovi fan, because McGhee ended up getting off with community service, a five-year suspended sentence and a $15,000 fine. (By the way 20 tons of weed would be worth more than $20 million today, so I'm thinking he had no trouble coming up with the money to pay the fine.) HERE

But of course, NO rock stars have problems with drug or alcohol, do they?... (Sorry that was the closest thing to a segue I could come up with.) Billy Joel's "The Hits" drops today. It's 19 tracks of remastered versions of his most familiar work, from the "Piano Man" era to his 1993 "River of Dreams."

HERE'S a review.

JOHN ULETT-ER

I spent this past weekend (Nov. 13th and 14th) with my oldest daughter in Dallas-Ft. Worth as she attends Texas Christian University. We watched the TCU Horned Frogs, who are ranked 3rd in the nation and the BCS standings, beat San Diego St. We're hoping TCU gets a fair shake when it comes to the National College Football Championship. I'm thinking Alabama will take care of their arch-rival #2 Auburn when they meet later this month and that will put TCU in the Championship game but we're talking about a system here that is so convoluted anything can happen.

While there I had dinner Saturday night with the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs Lamarr Hunt Jr. His daughter and mine are roommates. He was praising both Rams Quarterback Sam Bradford and Head Coach Steve Spagnoulo. He said Spagnoulo was a strong candidate for the Chiefs job when it was open last year. He also had little sympathy for the Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones. For me it's good to know there are even people within the League who also root against so called "America's Team." Guess who's going to have a good seat at the Rams-Chiefs game at the Edward Jones Dome in December. Hello!!

I also want to say congratulations to my youngest daughters 5th grade soccer team for winning the West County CYC Soccer Championship Sunday night. They now move on to the big City/County Tournament this weekend. I can't take it. I get so nervous at these games it's all I can do to stand on my own two legs when the games over. Thanks for reading.

John The Wimp.