Superman Returns

Your truly has been a Superman fan since the 1950s.  Back then I watched the Adventures of Superman with George Reeves on Channel 11.  There was John Hamilton as Perry White,  Noell Neill and Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane, and Jack Hamilton as Jimmy Olson.  There is a Yahoo Group devoted to George Reeves at http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/GeorgeReeves/.  Later on in the era of VCRs I taped many episodes. In the late 1970s there were the 4 Superman movies with the late Christopher Reeve staring as the Man of Steel.  Today we went to see the new movie Superman Returns with Brandon Routh.  We enjoyed it but my favorite is still the George Reeves TV version.  I am sure that in the years to come there will be more Superman movies with Brandon Routh.

What is wrong with the picture?

The three guys in this picture are mixed up.  The guy in the middle is wearing a Mets shirt, but out in Arizona he must be ecstatic since the Red Sox just beat the Mets 3 games in a row by the scores of 9-2, 10-4, and 4-2.  The guy on the right is wearing a red shirt, but is he wearing red socks?  The guy on the left is completely lost.  He doesn't know the difference between Fenway Park and Central Park

Anyway, the Mets are still 11 games ahead in the National League East.  Baring a complete collapse, they will be in the playoffs.  They start a 3 game series against the Yankees in the Bronx tonight.

Rain threatened today - Another crummy movie

Since it didn't rain overnight, Lee and I left for Forest Park about 8:15 AM.  About 2/3 of the way there, it started to rain so I turned around to go back home.  When we arrived in Flushing it wasn't raining.  Sometimes a few miles can make a difference between rain and no rain.  I took Lee to the PS 214 school yard in the neighborhood.  About 15 minutes later it started to rain.  We went to the multiplex to see another silly movie called The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift.  In order to avoid a jail sentence, Sean Boswell heads to Tokyo to live with his military father. In a low-rent section of the city, Shaun gets caught up in the underground world of drift racing.  It is a good movie if you like to see cars being smashed.  Back to work tomorrow.

Rainy Saturday

It rained on and off all day today.  There was nothing much to do but to go to the local multiplex.  We saw "Click" starring Adam Sandler.  It was kind of silly, but there was nothing else to do.  The Mets lost to the Toronto Blue Jays 7-4.  The weather forecast for tomorrow is not very promising.  If it rains, we'll check out another movie.

The Wright Stuff

Lee got 2 free tickets to a Mets game since he belongs to the Mets Fan Club for Kids.  Karen was working today as a substitute school aide and I am still on vacation so the tables were turned and I went to the game with Lee.  David Wright hit two two-run home runs as the Mets beat the Cincinati Reds 6-2.  Pedro Martinez started the game and was the winning pitcher.  I think we will have some post season baseball in Flushing this year.

Circle Line around Manhattan

Karen wasn't working today so the three of us took the #7 Train to Times Square and walked to the Hudson River and got on the Circle Line.  We took this trip around Manhattan about 7 yers ago, so it was time to do it again.  It is interesting to be a tourist in your own town.  We observed many new buildings on both sides of the East and Hudson Rivers.

Mr. Mom Day 2

I tokk Lee to Cunningham Park at about 9 AM so that he could play basketball.  We walked around the park for a while and then we did our recreational reading.  We drove up to the Bay Terrace Shopping Center where we ate lunch at Ben's Deli.  From there we walked over to the Barnes and Nobles where I resisted the temptation to buy the new Bob Dylan encyclopedia.  I think I have enough books about him.  I did buy a book on fans of the New York Mets. I also bought a book for Lee about the forthcoming Superman movie.  I guess I should write a blog entry about my interest in the Man of Steel.

Mr. Mom for the week

Since I work at a university I get 20 vacation days plus 3 personal days a year.  You may as well take them even if you are not going away.  Lee is finished with school since he does not have any regents exams at Francis Lewis High School.  Karen had a job today as a substitute school aide.  All 3 went out to breakfast at Uncle Bill's Diner in the neighborhood.  We went back home.  Lee and I drove to Alley Pond Park where we walked around and then sat down and did some leisurely reading.  When we got home we tunred on the Ovation Channel at 4 PM and saw another special on the life and music of Johnny Cash.

Fathers Day 2006

The is the first Fathers Day in several years that I've been home.  Let's look back:

2003- Memphis

2004 - Nashville

2005 - San Francisco

Since we we home, we resumed the tradition of Karen's going down to buy the Sunday New York Times.

It was pretty hot and humid today, so we stayed close to home.  We saw X-Men The last stand at the local multiplex.

Last night we went to Shea to see the Mets lose to the Baltimore Orioles 4-2.  Today the Amazins bounced back and won 9-4

Rain, the Beatles Tribute band

Still trying to beat that lousy cold.  I am not completely over it.  Last night we saw Rain, a Beatles tribute band at Town Hall on West 43rd Street.  Since it is not possibile to see the Beatles in concert, seeing a tribute band is the next best thing.  Their web site is:  http://www.raintribute.com.   They played Beatles songs from all eras of the groups history.  I saw the Broadway show Beatlemania back in 1979.  I saw other Beatles tributes bands in 1980 at Queens College and in 1995 at a high school on Long Island.

Felt lousy all week

My cold got worse and I took off from work on Monday and Tuesday.  Business in the NJIT Library is very slow over the summer, so I didn't miss much.  I returned to work on Wednesday, but I still was not 100%.  For two days I had train problems getting into work.  Yesterday, the #7 train was not running in the morning, so I walked over and took the Long Island Rail Road to Manhattan.  Luckily, the conductors did not collect tickets.  This morning the #7 had door problems at Hunters Point Avenue.  They took the train out of service.  The delay caused me to miss my connection to New Jersey Transit.  Hopefully, by tomorrow I'll be completely over this cold.

Still fighting a cold

I sure wish that someone would come up with a cure for the common cold.  I just wasn't up to par so I took it easy near home.  I took Lee to Forest Park in the morning to shoot baskets.  In the early afternoon we walked over to the Wendys in the neighborhood for some hamburgers.  Over this weekend I downloaded 5 Theme Time Radio shows with Bob Dylan as the host.  For years I have grappled with buying an XM radio and subscribing to the service for $13/month.  Since AOL offers the music channels on XM, I decided not to subscribe.  In May they introduced a show called Theme Time Radio with Bob Dylan as the host to be heard on the Deep Tracks Channel.  When I tried to listen they said that XM listeners on AOL and Direct TV could not get that program.  Somebody post the shows on a web site and I downloaded them.  These are songs selected by Dylan, not his songs.  Bob sure knows his music.

The Mets are killing the Arizona Diamondbacks 15-2.  It looks like we will have some post season baseball at Shea this year.  I am hoping for a replay of the 2000 World Series with the opposite result.

 

Took it easy today

I had a cold today so I wanted to take it easy.  We just walked over to the local multiplex and saw the Break Up with Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn.

Fridays off this summer

For the past 4 years or so NJIT has given everybody Friday off over the summer.  We have to work 7 1/2 hours a day for 4 days for a total of 30 hours.  The university saves $200,000 each year in energy costs.  I lived like a retiree today.  I drove to Hempstead Lake State Park in the morning, ate lunch and sat around the neighborhood and did some leisurely reading.

Disappointing day at Shea

The Mets lost to the San Francisco Giants 7-6 in a 4 hour 12 inning marathon.  Barry Bonds was roundly booed by the Mets Fans.  The score was tied at 4-4 at the end of 9.  The Giants scored two runs in the top of the 10th.  In the bottom of the 10th, Jose Valentin and Lasting Milledge homered to retie the game, but the Giants scored in the top of the 12th to win.  David Wright hit two home runs earlier in the game.

Gathering of WCBS-FM enthusiasts today at Ellen's Stardust Diner

Today marked the first anniversary of worst format change in radio history.  On June 3, 2005 the Infinity Broadcasting executives dropped oldies on 101.1 FM after 33 years and changed to the Jack format.  The station featured wonderful radio personalities and a deep playlist of hits from the 50s, 60s, and 70s.  I really enjoyed the specialty shows such as the Top 20 Oldies Countdown, Soul of the City, and the weeknight Hall of Fame shows.  My fondest memory of the station was hearing Lee's birthday announcement on the Harry Harrison morning show.  In May 2001, Harry announced Lee's Bar Mitzvah on the air.  We played back the tape at his reception.  A year ago today the format was abruptly dropped while the radio personalities were let go with no notice.  There is no sense to rant anymore here. 

A few months ago I began to plan a gathering for today.  In this era of e-mail and message boards it was easy to reach people to invite them.  I got help from fellow oldies enthusiast Jeff Scheckner.  We picked Ellen's Stardust Diner at Broadway and 51st Street http://www.ellensstardustdiner.com/ .  The waiters and waitresses sing oldies while you eat.

About 40 people came.  I already received some photos.  Above you see me in a crowd.  I am wearing the yellow shirt with blue horizontal stripes.  The highlight of the show was the appearance of Bobby Jay and was a DJ at the station for about 18 years.  I remember winning a call in contest on his show c1987.  When Bobby walked in, he received a standing ovation.  I must say that he has a lot of class.  He said he was very appreciative of the support that we gave him.  Unfortunately, he has not gotten a full time gig since CBS let him go a year ago.  Tonight he is emceeing a show at the Westbury Music Fair.  I certainly wish Bobby the best.  He sure deserves it.

You can see photos at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bruces8852/my_photos

 

 

What a miserable trip home

Mazel Tov - this is hit #1000 on this blog.  Obviously, many of them were my own.  Anyway, my commute from NJIT in Newark to Flushing is tough enough under normal circumstances.  Today when I left work at 4:15,  a heavy rain shower began.  When I got to Newark Penn Station there was announcment that the New Jersey Transit trains were not running.  I took the PATH to 6th Ave. and 33rd Street.  It was only a ten minute delay, but the worst was yet to come.  I got on the subway and took the B train to 6th Avenue and 42nd street.  There was a mob of people trying to get to the #7 train.  I presumed that due to flooding the #7 was not running.  I turned back and tried to get to the F train.  They said the F was not running to Queens.  I left the subway system as was able to phone Karen to say I would be late.  I had my radio with me which didn't say anything about the 7.  I walked over to the #7 entrance right near the New York Public Library where I worked from 1983-90.  There was a mob of people waiting to go to Queens.  I used my subway smarts and took the #7 back to Times Square where the trains turns back.  The trip on the #7 to Queens was very slow and crowded.  I finally made it home at 7:20.  Oy Vey.