Happy birthday Neil Young!  Paul McCartney mini tour. Jagger defends Stones exorbitant ticket prices. Alex Lifeson honored. Playing Angry Birds might make you smarter. Why coffee might become extinct. Twelve things not to buy during the holidays.

NEIL YOUNG

Happy Birthday to Neil Young, who turns 67 today (November 12th)!!! In addition to publishing his long awaited autobiography, Waging Heavy Peace this year, Young has scored two back-to-back Top Ten albums with his side band Crazy Horse -- Americana, which was released in June and peaked at Number Four and the recent Psychedelic Pill, which just entered the Billboard 200 charts at Number Eight.

Young said that there's no real pattern to the music he records, and that the songs themselves tell him how things will go: "There's no real logic to it. I may do two rock n' roll albums in a row at some point, or I may do two soft ones in a row, or I may do some different kind of album that everybody wonders what the hell I did that for. I mean, y'know, I could do that. Y'know, it just depends, and there's no plan. I'm just going with the songs. The songs dictate the direction."

PAUL MCCARTNEY

Paul McCartney kicked off his current mini-tour last night (November 11th) in St. Louis at the 19,260-capacity Scottrade Center. The show was the first of a five-show run this month, which will also hit Houston, Texas; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Edmonton, Alberta. In addition to all the usual Beatles classics which have dominated McCartney's setlists over the years, McCartney played such Wings favorites as "Junior's Farm," "Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five," and "Mrs. Vandebilt" -- along with a deeper dip into his "Fab Four" catalogue, running through evergreens such as "I've Just Seen A Face," "Birthday," and "The Night Before," among many others.

McCartney said that there's no great method behind devising his nightly setlists, explaining that it really comes down to common sense: "We just do, first of all what we think the audience might like; secondly, what we like -- which is very important because we can't throw in stuff that they like, but we don't. And then we throw in a bit of things they may not know, but that we think would be interesting because they don't know 'em. And then we look and see what we did last time and we try to do too many of the same numbers. We try to open with something different, so a few little things like that."

McCartney's current band is the longest lineup he's had in place since the Beatles -- with the core group of player signing on to work with McCartney during the spring of 2001: "I was going to do the Driving Rain album, I was talking to the producer, I said, 'I better get some people -- or you better get some people.' (Laughs) Y'know, we're gonna work with musicians. So I said, 'Y'know what, you know guys out in L.A.' I said, 'Why don't you make a couple of suggestions' -- so he did, and they sounded great. Abe (Laboriel Jr.) on drums and Rusty (Anderson) on guitar. So, anyway, I worked with those two guys during the Driving Rain album, and loved working with them."

Britain's Daily Mail just revealed that back on May 2nd, McCartney and wife Nancy Shevell narrowly escaped a helicopter crash in a $9 million Air Harrods helicopter. According to the report, the couple was only two feet way from plunging into trees due to a disoriented pilot coping with poor weather conditions. He was able to steer the copter to safely at a nearby airport. The paper posted that air accident investigators have launched a "serious incident" probe.

MICK JAGGER

Mick Jagger defends the Rolling Stones' exorbitant ticket prices for their four London and New Jersey shows. The top-tiered ticket, which topped out at over $800, has quadrupled in price on the black market, depending on which scalper is selling the seats. Jagger spoke about the ticket controversy to Rolling Stone and defended the price of the seats, explaining, "I don't think there should be a secondary ticket market. I don't think it should be legal. To my mind, there has to be a better way of doing it, but we're living, really, with the way the system functions. We can't, in four shows, change the whole ticketing system."

He went on to say: "You might say, 'The tickets are too expensive' -- well, it's a very expensive show to put on, just to do four shows, because normally you do a hundred shows and you'd have the same expenses. So, yes, it's expensive. But most of the tickets go for a higher price than we've sold them for, so you can see the market is there. We don't participate in the profit. If a ticket costs 250 quid ($400), let's imagine, and goes for 1,000 quid ($1,600), I just want to point out that we don't get that difference."

ALEX LIFESON

Rush's Alex Lifeson has been named Canada's greatest guitarist by the Canadian Broadcasting Company, topping a list including Jeff Healey, Neil Young and Randy Bachman. The CBC said, "For over four decades, he has been seamlessly transitioning from complicated rhythm patterns to searing solos. His influence on shredders is undeniable, though his own playing borrows from jazz, reggae and funk." Rush, who are finally nominated for entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year, will be inducted into Guitar Center's RockWalk in Hollywood on November 20th. (ProgRockMag.com)

PLAYING ANGRY BIRDS MIGHT MAKE YOU SMARTER

A recent study cited in the Harvard Business Review suggests that engaging in some activities we think of as non-productive -- like the game Angry Birds -- may give you an edge at work. One researcher says playing games make people better problem solvers, more collaborative, and less likely to give up. One expert with the study says she has made it a personal goal to 'waste' four minutes per hour playing games. (Daily Mail)

WHY COFFEE MIGHT BECOME EXTINCT

Scientists say rising temperatures due to climate change could mean wild arabica coffee is extinct in 70-years. Experts say commercial coffee growers would still be about to grow crops in plantations designed with the right conditions. However, the loss of wild arabica would make it harder for plantations to survive long term, and beat threats such as pests and disease. Cultivated arabica coffee accounts for slightly more than 60-percent of global coffee production. (Yahoo)

TWELVE THINGS NOT TO BUY DURING THE HOLIDAYS (Yahoo)

1) Laptops. Most new laptop models are released in October or November, just in time for holiday season. If your top goal isn't to own the latest technology, you'll find a better deal on laptops in early fall as retailers will be discounting older models to make room for new inventory.

2) Cameras. Find the best deals on cameras in February, when newer camera models are introduced. By late February, older camera models sell at discounts of 30-percent or more. Presidents' Day weekend is a good time to find sales.

3) Skis. The best time to find deals on skis is in March and April, as ski season winds down. Stores will discount models from the past winter.

4) Bicycles. Cold weather is in fact the best time to buy a bicycle -- if you wait until after the holiday rush. Shops will be offering steep discounts on older models, and are more likely to throw in free extra accessories because they are looking for business during the slow winter months.

5) Cars. Find the best deals on cars during the day on New Year's Eve. Car dealers are in the mood to haggle and clear the inventory before year-end to make room for new models and earn manufacturer incentives. TrueCar estimates vehicles will average 9% below sticker price on December 31st.

6) Cruises. Book the best deal on a summertime cruise during "wave season" which runs January to March. Cruise lines will be competing for customers and offering deals as a result.

7) Luggage. The months after the holidays are quiet periods for vacations, so stores will lower prices on luggage. Buy your new suitcase in February or March for the best deal.

8) Jewelry. Jewelers are more willing to negotiate in April, after tax season, and in July and August when there are no gift-giving holidays.

9) Linens. Wait for January "white sales" before buying sheets, blankets, and towels. Look for discounts in department stores and from some catalog retailers ranging from 10-percent to 60-percent.

10) Tools. Wait 'til Father's Day to give Dad his new drill- prices on tools will fall by 25-percent by June.

11) Suits. Wait until January, when spring collections arrive at stores and Fall and Winter suits go on sale.

12) Broadway Tickets. Get the best ticket prices in January, February, or July. Tickets are cheaper because fewer people are seeing shows.

Thanks for listening to The Eagle while you work. Keep it fabulous Houston!

xoxo,

Jennifer Tyler

Fabulous Mid-Day Diva