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Costello, who had chops galore but kept an understated nature to his playing, was found dead on Tuesday in an Atlanta motel room, according to news accounts. He was just about to turn 29.

If you don't know his work, check out this cut, "No Half Steppin,'" from a self-titled CD. As you can hear, he was a really good singer, too.

Read on for a nice remembrance, via myspace bulletin, from harmonica player Richard Rosenblatt, of Tone-Cool Records.

From new channels editor Dwayne Yancey:

> Our MusicCast site of local music videos is getting record traffic -- and people must like what they're seeing and hearing because for the third week in a row, the order hasn't changed. Once again, The Seed holds down the top three spots:

1. "No More," by The Seed
2. "Can You Understand?," by The Seed
3. "A New Season," by The Seed
4. "OxyContin Rock," by the Roanoke Allstars
5. "Untitled Waltz," by The Wading Girl

So why isn't your band on the MusicCast? It could be. We've got details on how to submit a video on the site.

New Orleans pianist Henry Butler is coming to Jefferson Center on Friday night. I just posted this podcast with him.

http://www.roanoke.com/entertainment/wb/158309

His show concludes the Jeff's series, "The Blind Leading ...", which is all about blindness and the creative process. Check out the 'cast to hear Butler talk about being a blind musicians, about Hurricane Katrina (which ran him off from New Orleans, at least for now), and his new record, "PiaNOLA Live." And he gives us a great history of New Orleans pianists.

Anybody who has read Barbara Kingsolver's novel "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" probably remembers that asparagus is the first vegetable of spring.

When those little shoots reach high for the sky, it's a sure sign that strawberries and blueberries and cucumbers are just around the corner.

Not only is asparagus an early riser, but according to one of my favorite books, "Nature's Pharmacy," it is high in vitamins A and C as well as glutathione, which keeps eyes healthy by interfering with the formation of cataracts.

In addition, asparagus is high in potassium and folates, so if you're thinking of getting pregnant or you're newly pregnant, eat up!

Of course, all of these benefits are well and good if you love asparagus, which I do. But there are a significant number of people out there (my sister and mother included) who absolutely hate asparagus.

I don't know how I could be related to them.

Tomorrow's Front Burner column pays tribute to a lady who had her fingers in a lot of different pies around Roanoke.

I would say "literally," but Lib Wilhelm's granddaughter, Kristin Breakell, said her grandma wasn't much for baking. She sure did know a lot about other kinds of cooking, though.

Lib, who died earlier this month at age 86, started catering out of her Roanoke home more than 40 decades ago. She didn't stop catering until she was in her early 80s.

And in those early years, when her business was still getting started, she also worked at St. John's Episcopal Church, The Shenandoah Club and the Patrick Henry Hotel.

But it didn't take long for Lib to gain a reputation for her professionalism and her food. Her most famous recipe, a spicy cheese slaw, has been shared around Roanoke for years and will run with tomorrow's story.

She was also the first caterer to start serving made-to-order shrimp and grits at parties.

You know, I joke a lot on this blog. Because to me, "American Idol" isn't real life. For most of us, it's a fun way to escape the reality of our own lives. I think most of you would agree.

But, today, my heart isn't really into "Idol." I spent the day at Virginia Tech, helping to gather and post news, during this first-year anniversary of the shootings, this day of remembrance. My heart is with the friends and families of the victims. And with the university. There was something bittersweet about being there.

Take a minute to check out all the vignettes, video and photographs from the day at Virginia Tech: One Year Later.

Thanks for reading.

I'm nervous. Totally nervous right now. What's going to happen? Brooke can't go home. No ... she will at some point, yes, but not over Kristy Lee! NO!!! Can you tell I'm in freak-out mode?

OH, sweet!!! I'm so totally relieved. For me -- and, yes, Brooke will go eventually (and soon) -- but I'm just not ready for that yet.

Guess y'all are still stuck with me!

(p.s. To the dude who bought Kristy Lee's horse: Give it up. Or at least wait until she cuts a CD and you can probably get more $$ for it.)

Just answer me that, please. Please?? I just don't get it.

I'm a little stumped at who is in the top three and who's not with this weird split-stage maneuver. I guess we'll know as soon as Golden Boy David Archuleta is sent to one side or the other. At this point, my guess is the bottom three are on the right side of the stage ... with Carly and Syesha.

I'm having fun with my random collection of thoughts, so I think I might keep doing it.

What's with Paula's outfit right now?? That flower?
Jason Castro's slitty eyes ... um, can we say 4:20, anybody?
David Cook's elf shoes
OK people, Carly has a fan base if the audience cheers are any indication. Take that, haters! (OK, it's looking like she might be in the bottom 3, though, but whatever.)
Kristy Lee Cook calls Simon a "butt." Classic.
The Ford commercial to the tune of Queen's "Break Free" was actually pretty good. The message, anyway. Not necessarily the Ford.
Why is it that during Elliott Yamin's performance that only the four contestants who were called onstage previously were allowed to watch him live? The others had to stand in the back.
I admit: I fast-forwarded during Mariah Carey's performance. Nice blogger, yes?
Mariah Carey's Fran Drescher-ish laugh during her interlude with Ryan.
The fact they cut out the show before KLC got to even finish her goodbye song.

David Archuleta's bad leather pants. The pink "Hello Kitty" band-aid on Mariah Carey's hand. (Not sure if it was "Hello Kitty," technically, but it looked like it.) Is that a trend? Simon's weird comment about Brooke being a burger with no meat. Paula actually making sense for once. Just David Cook's hair in general. The way the audience cheers when Brooke White puts her shoe back on after playing the piano. Randy likening Jason Castro's performance to a "weird beach luau." Kristy Lee Cook's fake girlie hug with Mariah.

Randy Jackson to Syesha: "That's one of the toughest songs to sing, as well." How is that? Only one can be the toughest, Randy. Simon's awful sweater that looked like it came from Wal-Mart. David Archuleta sounding like Kermit the Frog when he was talking to the judges. Carly letting it fly to Ryan that she thinks her fellow competitors are boring (in not so many words, of course). Random flashes of Minnie Driver in the audience (maybe with Teri Hatcher?)

That is all. Add your own if you have any.

If you've been reading any of the comments posted to this blog, you likely ran across one from Nona saying she's noticed a pattern lately: The contestant who performs first is usually the one who goes home. I don't think this will be true in the case of David "Golden Boy" Archuleta, who kicked off the night with Mariah Carey's "When You Believe." Of course the judges just luuuuuuved it. I thought it was yet another snoozer by David No. 1. (And, seriously, what was with those leather pants??)

Carly Smithson, who looked stunning in that dress, did a decent job of "Can't Live," although her confidence waned part of the way through it. (Did y'all notice a lot of shaky confidence this evening?) Carly certainly cleaned up for the audience, didn't she? She was (consciously) smiling throughout and doing her best to be as sweet as pie to Ryan and the judges. Although her comment about the week being boring without Michael Johns might not have pleased her fellow contestants. Still, Carly has the best vocals of the remaining female performers.

Mariah Carey is the mentor on "American Idol" tonight. I've never really been a Mariah Carey fan. But it's OK, right? We all have our own opinions. I like Madonna. Many of you probably don't. So I can take it.

Therefore I will keep my comments to myself and admit that, yes, I know she recently surpassed Elvis in No. 1 hits. And she is talented. On the flip side (maybe just one comment), Elvis has been dead (or has he?) for a long time.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the shootings of 32 students and teachers at Virginia Tech. Last year, people flocked to local sports stores to snatch Virginia Tech t-shirts, ties, hats and anything else that they could find to memorialize the tragedy. Many stores sold out of Tech merchandise by the end of that week.

A year later, merchandise that reflects the tragedy still is moving off shelves, but it's a different mix. Bryan Daniel, a manager at B&C Sports Collectibles in Lynchburg, told me today that New York Yankee hats with the Virginia Tech logo lately have been selling faster than most other Hokie merchandise.

The hats have been popular since the Yankees traveled to Blacksburg for a March exhibition game with the Virginia Tech baseball team, he said. The Yankees scheduled the game to support and lift the spirits of the Virginia Tech community.

Likely because of the anniversary of the shootings, there has been a slight up-tick in sales of general Virginia Tech items at B&C stores in Roanoke and Lynchburg in the last week, Daniel said.

Some inexpensive options are $5 t-shirts that B&C stores have been selling since Christmas. The store ordered the maroon shirts with only the VT logo in the middle “purposely to sell at a low price,” Daniel said.

Now through Saturday at the Daleville fuel center, you can receive 10 cents off the gallon price of gasoline or diesel if you use a Kroger plus card. And with the purchase of $100 in groceries at Kroger, customers can receive a 15 cent discount off the per gallon price of gas or diesel through Saturday. There also are free giveaways all week if you’re one of the first 300 customers to fuel up each day.

There’s more. Next week, beginning April 21, you can receive a 5 cent discount off gasoline by using a Kroger plus card at this same Daleville fuel station. The 15 cents off promotion with a $100 grocery purchase also continues next week.

Kroger estimates that consumers can save 3 cents per gallon of gasoline on a regular basis by using a plus card at the grocer's fuel centers.

Several people have told me that they regularly consult www.cheapgas.com, a Web site that reveals which gas stations in an area sell the cheapest gas. It compares prices for regular unleaded gasoline after you search by zip code.

What are your strategies for scouting out the lowest gas prices?

It’s Tax Day. You’ve either filed your federal tax returns ahead of time, or you’re like some of the hurried people I saw this morning waiting in line at the post office.

Also, some greeting card companies have gotten into the April 15 celebration (if you can call it a day to celebrate). At online sites for Hallmark and American Greetings, you can send free tax day cards, which include a picture of an I.R.S man and one encouraging the recipient to hope for a “groovy tax return.”

In my story, a marketing professor speculates about whether retailers really can turn April 15 into a happy day with sales and special offers, like with other holidays, such as President’s Day and Labor Day.

What do you think?

Lynn Blankenship of Troutville said he chased the same crafty gobbler for two spring with no luck. He got it right Saturday morning.

Blankenship and friend Kevin Taylor got into position well before daylight. Blankenship made one call and the bird flew out of the roost and into range.

Blankenship is calling it his 23/3 bird because it weighed 23 pounds and had three beards. The beards were 10, 9 and 7 inches long, respectively.

The men weren't done as Taylor took a nice gobbler later in the morning.

I've been getting reports that gobblers are pretty henned up so it helps when you can get in on them while they're roosted.

Keep the reports and photos coming.

Roanoke's temperature at 7 a.m. was 31 degrees, meaning that the city officially experienced a freeze. The average last spring freeze from 1948 to 2007 was April 12, so this would only be 4 days later than average, provided there is not another freeze later in the spring. The latest date on record for a last freeze was May 11 in 1966, though it dropped to 33 on May 22, 2003, missing a freeze 11 days later by 1 degree. The earliest date for a last spring freeze was March 18 in 1978. The last spring freeze was very early that year even though it followed an extremely cold winter.

Temperatures almost everywhere else in Southwest Virginia were below freezing for a few hours this morning. There is the potential for damage to anything that is budding or blooming, but that seems to be much less than last year, since our March wasn't as warm.

A few areas may get to freezing again Thursday morning, though the overall trend the next several days will be for much warmer weather.

Roanoke is still sitting at 52 degrees at 10 p.m. The dew point is low, 18 degrees, so there is plenty of room for the temperature to fall. It will have to do so hurriedly in the after-midnight hours to get us to freezing. It can do it, but I would not be surprised if the urban areas of Roanoke escape with temperatures just above freezing. Still, a close enough call to get in some sensitive plants. We'll see how it pans out.

Most outlying areas will drop below freezing by Wednesday morning, the second in a row for many locations. A freeze warning is in effect for most counties from Roanoke south and east. The counties north and west of Roanoke will get to freezing, too, but their growing season is not far enough long to warrant a freeze warning, according to the National Weather Service.

Click here for current temperatures at stations across the area

Mark Berman here in Blacksburg, where the victims of last April 16 were remembered before the Virginia Tech softball team recorded an emotional doubleheader sweep.

Before their doubleheader against Liberty, the Tech players gathered together on the field and shouted, "All for 32." It was their theme for the day.

Then they went out and beat the Flames 7-2 and 9-1.

"It was amazing," said first baseman Beth Walker, a Galax graduate who homered in Game 2. "You had a lot of thoughts going through your head besides softball. ... We were not just playing for a win. We were definitely playing for 32."

"It was really special to be able to come out and play for a purpose, play for the memory of the ones we lost," center fielder Jenna Rhodes said.

But playing on this day wasn't easy for the Hokies, who scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth to snap a 2-2 tie in Game 1.

"It just hits you at odd times," said pitcher Angela Tincher, who struck out 17 in the first game but also gave up a two-run homer in the sixth inning of that game. "It was a little bit harder than I think I thought it was going to be. Softball is what we're used to doing, but today ... it was really hard to focus.

"I just put a little bit too much pressure on myself. I was trying to be too perfect. I just didn't want to have anything bad happen today. For awhile there, I was just trying to push too hard [with] a little bit of the emotions. .... We knew how important today was."

Tincher won the first game, becoming the winningest pitcher in ACC history with her 110th career victory. The old mark of 109 was held by ex-Georgia Tech ace Jessica Sallinger.

"It is a nice day to have something good happen like that," said Tincher, a James River graduate who didn't pitch Game 2.

Virginia Tech drew defending Big Ten champ Wisconsin in next season's ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

The Hokies will host the Badgers on Monday, Dec. 1. It will be the teams' first meeting.

Virginia will visit Tubby Smith and Minnesota the following night. It will be the third time the schools have faced each other in the Challenge.

Here's the complete lineup, with times and TV yet to be announced.

Monday, Dec. 1

Wisconsin at Virginia Tech

Tuesday, Dec. 2

Duke at Purdue

Clemson at Illinois

Ohio State at Miami

Virginia at Minnesota

Iowa at Boston College

Wednesday, Dec. 3

North Carolina vs. Michigan State (Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan)

Indiana at Wake Forest

Michigan at Maryland

Florida State at Northwestern

Penn State at Georgia Tech