VFRocker- I know what you think when talking about Jimi and his music with soul. I'm a member of younger generation, so I actually started listening Joe and Steve. But I got some CD's of Jimi and after few songs I already knew, what is the difference between him and other guitar players-he played with passion and great feeling and if I want to be in a mood for improvisation, I listen to his music.

Steven- sounds like you had a good time up there!! What are your plans over Christmas? We're just spending ours with my in-laws, trying to visit my parents etc.... I am looking forward to opening all my presents though- that never wears off no matter how old you get I think!!

Happy Holidays to all T2J members!

Joe Satriani,

Happy Christmas to you & to all the T2j members!

ocps - prog metal with chimps in about space missions....
just can't fail bro... lol....

awesome idea....

you need to do an interview with the chimp when he gets back to earth.... lol..

nice one...

it seemed to me that the best fit was a clean, compressed guitar on the neck pickup.... my regular lead tone just don't seem to fit at all....

solution??... make it fit... lmao....

if worse comes to worse I'll do a piss poor impersonation of George Benson... lol
cos time is my biggest issue - I have one more song from my album to record and then I need to get cracking with the Cross set

hope this is ok....

oh yeah I almost forgot to mention... it's a fun progression to mess with.... I had hours of fun noodling around over it...

Mötley Crüe to chat online next month

Firefighters Burn Down Own Sauna

HELSINKI (Reuters) - A squad of fire-fighters accidentally set their own sauna ablaze but could not extinguish the fire despite their training.

The sauna, at Lappi, 140 miles west of Helsinki, was destroyed despite the volunteer fire-fighters' efforts, Finnish news agency STT said.

The fire Wednesday caused no injuries.

Bathing in a sauna is a national pastime in Finland, especially in winter, and most households have access to one.

Democratic Leadership Rethinking Abortion

WASHINGTON — After long defining itself as an undisputed defender of abortion rights, the Democratic Party is suddenly locked in an internal struggle over whether to redefine its position to appeal to a broader array of voters.

The fight is a central theme of the contest to head the Democratic National Committee particularly between two leading candidates: former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean who supports abortion rights, and former Indiana Rep. Tim Roemer, an abortion foe who argues that the party cannot rebound from its losses in the November election unless it shows more tolerance on one of society's most emotional conflicts.

Roemer is running with the encouragement of the party's two highest-ranking members of Congress, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and incoming Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada. Dean, a former presidential candidate, is popular with the party's liberal wing.

If Roemer were to succeed Terry McAuliffe as Democratic chairman in the Feb. 10 vote, the party long viewed as the guardian of abortion rights would suddenly have two antiabortion advocates at its helm. Reid, too, opposes abortion and once voted for a nonbinding resolution opposing Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion.

Party leaders say their support for preserving the landmark ruling will not change. But they are looking at ways to soften the hard line, such as promoting adoption and embracing parental notification requirements for minors and bans on late-term abortions.

But in opening a discussion about new appeals to abortion opponents, party leaders are moving into uncertain terrain. Abortion rights activists are critical pillars of the Democratic Party, providing money and grass-roots energy. Some of them say they are concerned that Democratic leaders are entertaining any changes to the party's approach to abortion.

A senior official of one of the nation's largest abortion rights groups said she would be concerned if the party were to choose Roemer to head the Democratic National Committee.

"We want people who are pro-choice. Of course I would be disappointed," said the official, who asked that her name be withheld because of her close alliance with party officials.

Gloria Feldt, president of Planned Parenthood, said Democratic strategists who were pushing for the abortion discussion had misconstrued the results of the November election by overstating the strength of "values" voters.

She said the party should remain committed to the "women of America, and their health and their lives and their rights."

Feldt said she had spoken to Kerry and Roemer on Wednesday, and that both had sought to allay her concerns. Both assured her that the party was not changing its stance on abortion, but merely wanted to be more "inclusive."

The debate among Democrats comes at a time when abortion rights supporters are feeling particularly vulnerable. Congress passed a ban on what critics call "partial-birth" abortion last year that Bush signed into law. Last month, abortion opponents were emboldened when four conservative Republicans were elected to the Senate. Also, anticipated retirements from the Supreme Court could give Bush the chance to nominate justices that would tilt the court against Roe vs. Wade.

The race for Democratic Party chairman remains wide open among Dean, Roemer and several other contenders, including longtime operative Harold M. Ickes, New Democrat Network head Simon Rosenberg and South Carolina political strategist Donald L. Fowler Jr. The field of candidates is likely to remain in flux until days before the February vote.

not ready yet . . .

almost ready

ok

here we go

More consumers give new cars as gifts - and get lots of kisses

USA TODAY - Some have been early Christmas presents, delivered by valet parking attendants to surprised drivers. Some will be waiting in garages Christmas morning with giant bows. And at least one will be in a backyard on Christmas Eve.

Christmas cars may seem an extravagant way to check someone off your gift list, but each season brings a new group of generous givers and lucky recipients. This year, the trend is buoyed by unprecedented luxury car deals geared to the holidays. No surprise there: While there are no data on how many are gifts, December was the biggest sales month for luxury cars in three of the last six years, Autodata says.

Anyone feeling a twinge of envy should know that for every pricey car that goes to the woman or man who has everything, at least one goes to someone who is truly surprised, not to mention deserving.

Saturday morning, Xenia Potter's surprise Christmas and 20th anniversary gift will be a red Jaguar X-type with a green bow. That Xenia had to drive her car-buff husband's automotive hand-me-downs for the past 15 years is the least of it. She's been battling health problems and spent decades doing medical research on organ transplants and diabetes for her son, who has had three transplants and is now diabetes-free.

Husband Norm Potter, who owns an infomercial sales company, was working the payments for the $35,000 car into his budget the other day. He says it's more than worth it.

"You know what? She deserves this. She's a stunningly beautiful woman who is twice as pretty on the inside," says Potter, who hopes Xenia's friends won't spoil his surprise.

The National Retail Federation estimates the average consumer will spend about $700 for the holidays this year, a 4.5% increase over 2003. But some will spend $70,000 - or more. Leading the Christmas car marketing this year are Lexus, Jaguar, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. But even sensible Honda has gotten into the game with its "Happy Honda Days" campaign. Carmakers say year-end bonuses and more disposable cash help buyers fund holiday cars - and leave money for a few more packages under the tree.

"Based on the income levels of our customers, it's usually not a trade-off," says Michelle Cervantez, Mercedes-Benz USA's marketing vice president. "Usually, the income levels can manage the purchase of a vehicle and other items."

Toyota's Lexus brand helped popularize the idea of cars as gifts in 2000 with its first "December to Remember" campaign. That December became Lexus' best sales month in its history, and December continues to be the luxury brand's best month, climbing an average of 14% each year.

JM Lexus in Margate, Fla., sells about 50 Lexus models as holiday gifts in December and will deliver about 25 on Christmas Day. The dealership is even open Dec. 25 for customers who want to come by for their gift cars. That often includes husbands buying vehicles as a surprise for their wives.

"The wives are usually a bit bent out of shape because the last place they want to go on Christmas is a car dealership," says general manager Dave Mullen. "Then they see a brand-new car on the showroom floor with a bow and their name on it."

Steven- there must be a gremlin in your computer!! That happens to me sometimes, it is really annoying I agree!!!

962- update on our house sale.... well after much delay and irritation, the exchange of contracts was all set to go through today but!! One of the cheques hadn't cleared, and one of the solicitors is not working tomorrow..... so we have to wait AGAIN, hopefully for the beginning of January and hope to God no one changes their mind over the holidays!!! It is designed to give you a nervous breakdown!!

Honestly, unless you absolutely have to, NEVER EVER attempt to move house if you live in England, unless you have a year of your life to waste, and/or have a sadistic love of spending a fortune on mobile bills to various solicitors, estate agents, surveyors and have the patience to be fobbed off with all their crap......

Moan over! I do apologise, especially being the festive season as it is!!! But I do feel better for getting that out of my system!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway back to Christmas..... can't wait and am not gonna let those gits grind me down!!!

p4uljs2k, my suggestion would be to check out an Ibanez AT300 - that's an Andy Timmons model. They're great. You kinda get the best of both worlds, cause it's got strat-sounding neck and middle pickups, but a nice fat, warm-to-very hot fullsize humbucker in the bridge. mahogany body too, and a wilkinson VSV bridge and locking tuners. You can't go wrong.

My mother and I have had to deal with a lot of customer services lately, cause it's been one of those months where one thing after another just goes wrong. We have had some serious sh*t from people. I honestly reckon i'd get a better reception if I walked into the middle of harlem/the bronx wearing a Swastika T-shirt and asked the nearest gang where I might find the local KKK meeting place. Even if I did start it all by saying "wassup my niggaz?".

Clarky-No worries man.I know Joe has said in interviews that his accuracy has gone up dramatically in the last few years or so, and the first time I saw him was when I was like 15, so take my memories of that event with a grain of salt, hehe.

I would actually say that although Joe does most of his stuff note for note, I wish he would just rip, really just play loosely and mess with the arrangements a lot.He does that here and there, but I would love to see a whole show of "never know what is gonna happen next" type stuff.For me, having seen him like, 9 times or something, I think his setlists can be a little...I dunno, safe, for me.

But then again, I gotta realize that he is playing for a lot of people, and most of them aren't as fanatical as me.I suppose for the guy seeing Joe for the first time, note for note is gonna make that person happiest.

What can ya say?