Today's Radio log

This radio enthuisast does not listen to just one station.  Here is waht I listened to today:

WCBS-FM, 6:30-7:00 AM, 10:45 - 11:00 AM, 5:00 - 5:30 PM

WFUV-HD1 - 7:00 - 7:30 AM

WBGO - 7:30 - 8:15 AM

WABC - 8:15 - 8:45 AM - Mark Simone was sitting in for Imus

WFUV-HD2 - 2:00 - 2:45 (at this time HD1 was broadcasting Fordham basketball)

WQCD - 9:00 - 9:15 AM

WAXQ-HD1 12 noon - 12:15 (Daily Beatles feature)

WKTU-HD2 1:00 - 1:30 PM (country music)

WAXQ-HD2 1:30 - 2:00 (deep tracks)

Breakfast with the Beatles -7:30 PM - (on the internet)

NJIT made the New York Times

Ok Roz and Galen, I know you are lurking out there  Anyway in today's New York Times there was an article titled "Have Team Will Travel, Losing Badly". http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/sports/ncaabasketball/30bluehose.html?_r=1&ex=1356670800&en=28acef94e4d54ebc&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

It is about  the basektball team of Presbyterian College in South Carolina which has made the transition to Divison I and now has a record of 1-15.  I am reading through the article and there is a reference to the NJIT basketball team in a similar predicament.

Robert Altenkirch, president of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, says he is glad to have moved up. His team is 0-13 in its second year in Division I, but he said it would all be worth it. In an e-mail message, Altenkirch wrote, “The decision was made in fall 2002 to begin the transition process to Division I so we could align athletically with our academic peers and gain national visibility at the same time, which you can’t do in Division II.”

As bleak as it seems for N.J.I.T.’s season, there is no better example of the rewards that the transition holds than the 4,800-student Belmont University in Nashville, which started playing 11 years ago in Division I. On the court, Belmont has earned two straight bids to the N.C.A.A. tournament. Off the court, its enrollment has grown 61 percent in seven years, and its academic standards have risen as well; the university’s president, Bob Fisher, cites sports as a factor.

Will the NJIT basketball team make it to the big dance in the years to come?  If Belmont University can do it, so can we!

Saw some rare Beatles footage today

We took our annual trip to the Paley Center for Media (http://paleycenter.org) formerly know as the Museum of Television and Radio.  Visitors can either go to the library and pick TV shows to watch ot view the various screenings offered by the center.  The schedule offered "What's Happening! The Beatles in the USA" produced by the Maysles brothers.  I had never seen this footage of the Beatles' first visit to the United States in 1964.  The late New York Disc Jockey Murray the K who called himself the Fifth Beatle appears throughout the film.  There were scenes of the Beatles train ride from NYC to Washington, D.C.  We also so a documentary about the Funny Women of Television featuring Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Mary Tyler Moore, and Candice Bergen among others.  Our last stop was the Ralph Guild Radio Listening Room where I heard a documentary about Frank Sinatra hosted by William B. Williams on WNEW (AM) in 1978.

College Basketball at Madison Square Garden

Every Christmas week there is a college basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden.  Today's games:

Marist 73 Hofstra 67

Virginia Tech 54 St. Johns 48

The crowd was very disappointing considering that three of the four schools were from the New York Metropolitan area.

The Adventures of Superman

Faster than a speeding bullet

More power than a locomotive

Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound

Look, up in the sky, is it a bird, is it a plane?  It's Superman!

For the second day in a row we looked into my collection of VHS tapes recorded in the 80s and 90s and found 3 Superman tapes.  This was the TV show from the 1950s starring George Reeves.  We viewed two shows we recorded about 10 years ago from a TVLand marathon.  Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen are so dumb.  They can't figure out that Clark Kent is Superman

Great Caesar's Ghost!

 

Car 54 Where Are You/Mister Ed

I always enjoyed comedy TV of the early 1960s.  Today I went into my VHS tape storage area and pulled out a couple of my favorites.

Car 54 Where Are You - this show featured the antics of Patrolman Gunther Toody and Francis Muldoon of the 53rd precinct in the Bronx.  Back in the mid 1980s when the show was re-run on Nick at Night's TVLand I taped every episode that ran on the show's run in 1961-3.  Most people remember the show for it's theme.

There's a holup in the Bronx

Brooklyn's broken out in fights

There's a traffic jam in Harlem that's backed up to Jackson Heights

There's a scout troop short a child

Krushchev'e due at Idlewild

Car 54 Where are You?

Sometime in the 90's Karen taped Mister Ed, the show about a talking horse.  When Lee was a small child, he thought all horses talked.  We all had a lot of fun watching it.  It seems that TVLand has moved forward in time.  They no longer play re-runs of 50s and 60s show but they play most 80s shows.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

Since almost everything is closed on Christmas Day we walked over to the local multiplex and saw National Treasure Book of Secrets starring Nicholas Cage.  No movie review this time.

The Jewish Museum on Christmas Eve

Today we took a trip to the Jewish Museum on 92nd Street and 5th Avenue.  Karen and Lee had been there before but not I.  There were 3 special exhibitions:

From The New Yorker to Shrek:  The Art of William Steig - this Jewish artist died in 2003 at the age of 96

Issac Bashevis Singer and the Lower East Side: Photographs by Bruce Davidson.  This Nobel Prize winning author lived from 1904-1991

Camille Pissaro: Impressions of City & Country - He was the only Jewish impressionist  artist.

It's nice to do something a little different for a change.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

It was a rainy and dreary day today so it was off to the multiplex.  Lee picked Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.  This was a parody of biopics of rock stars.  The Dewey Cox character greatly resembled Lee's favorite, Johhny Cash.  He married young and had several children and then feel in love with another musician who was a dead ringer for June Carter.  The Dewey Cox character later in the movie "became" Bob Dylan.  That segment was filmed in black and white as a take off on Don't Look Back.  There was also a scene with Dewey and the Beatles with the Maharishi in India doing the transcendental meditation thing. Other rock stars that were referenced in the film included Jerry Lewis Lewis, Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, the Temptations and the Partridge Family.  Lyle Lovett, Jackson Browne, Jewel and Eddie Vedder actually appeared.

Slow Day Today

We didn't do very much today.  We just took a walk around Alley Pond Park in eastern Queens and stopped off in Dunkin Donuts.  I went to the public library and took out a biography of the late TV anchor Peter Jennings.  Saturday Night Oldies has a full four hour show.  Its number 1 enthusiast Alan B is a good son and is visiting his mother tonight for her birthday.

11 Days Away From Work

One advantage of working for a university is that you don't have to work from Christmas to New Years.  Today the boss let everyone go home early.  All faculty and staff were invited to attend the Womans Basketball game against Wagner College.  Din, how could I go wrong when it was absolutely free.  NJIT let a 14 point lead evaporate but recovered at beat Wagner 55-54.  The women are 2-7 when the men have lost all 13 games.  No lunacy or spreadsheets until January 2!

Holiday Party Today

Today most of the library staff had our holiday party at a restaurant in Newark called  Seabra Rodizio. I had been there several times before in the years that I worked at NJIT.  It is a good restaurant if you like meat.  Here is a review of it from the New York Times.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE4DB163AF933A05752C1A961958260

Two more days to go before the break

Memorial Service for Veronica Calderhead

In early November I reported the untimely passing of my  Rutgers colleague Veronica Calderhead.  Today I went to a memorial service for her at the Dana Library where she worked for 14 years.  There were tributes from her husband, Ka-Neng Au the Acting Director of the Dana Library, Marianne Gaunt, Natalie Borisovets, Lynn Mullins, and several teaching faculty.  Members of the audience were also invited to make statements.  I didn’t realize that she was into picassiette, a French mosaic art form.  Some of her art work was on display.

 

I always called Veronica when I had problems coping with the lunacy at my situation.  She always understood my difficulties with career issues.  It was very unfortunate that lines of communication between the NJIT and Dana libraries were so strained even though we are only two city blocks away.  She did speak a few times at my METRO Science Librarians Group.  She will be sorely missed by her friends, family, and colleagues.

Lee wanted the last game at Shea Stadium

We let Lee make the choice of 7 - Pack tickets for the Mets

1.  Family Pack including a game against the Yankees

2. Goodbye Shea Pack - No Yankee game but includes the last regular game to be played at Shea Stadium

Lee picked the Goodbye Shea Pack.  I think after being a Met fan since 1962, I disserve to see the last game to be played at Shea.  I guess next September I will have a lengthy entry on Shea Stadium

I am Legend

The weather was pretty lousy today.  There was mixed preciptation overnight creating slushy roads and sidewalks.  I had to take a short ride over to a paint store to buy stuff for the paint job of the kitchen.  The apartment is really a mess since Karen had to take everything out of the cabinets.

In the afternoon we walked over to the multiplex and saw I am Legend with Will Smith.  I thought the story line was a little too far fetched.  It did bring in $76.5 in ticket sales this weekend.

Getting back to Mets tickets.  For years the upper deck tickets were $1.30.  Back in those days Mickey Mantle mad $100,000 per years.  Somebody has to pay the players' salaries and for the new stadium

New York Met Tickets for 2008 already

Today I recieved a letter from the New York Mets ticket office offering 7 packs for 2008.  There are several packages available, but I have to pick from one of two:

Family Pack - this includes Saturday June 28th vs and Yankees and Saturday September 27th (penultimate game at Shea Stadium)

"Shea Goodbye" Pack - no Yankee game but includes September 28th the last game at Shea Stadium.  It will likely be very difficult to buy a single ticket for that last game.

After 45 years it will be very hard to say goodbye to Shea Stadium.  I had its day and it will be time to move on to Citifield just adjacent to it.  I will be crying when I see the wrecking back hit Shea,

There is some symmetry in this world.  I actually attended the second game played at Shea in 1964.  I remember my friends and I seeing our Spanish teacher on the subway platform on the way to the game.  The next Monday we discussed the game in Spanish.  So I guess it would make sense for me to see the second to last game at Shea.

I am glad that Saturday Night Oldies is on for a full 4 hours tonight.

 

I guess nobody would want to read about Karen and I fixing up our kitchen.  We were going to go to the Hofstra basketball game today, but we had to stay home while the painter was working in the kitchen.

Four phone calls in 30 minutes - unusual for me

Just as Jeopardy ended at 7:30

#1 - Radio enthusiast Jon from Maryland called to catch up on things.  I originally met Jon on Prodigy circa 1995.  I hooked up with him a few weeks ago in Manhattan.

#2 - Radio enthusiast Vic called from Florida.  I tried to phone him from the radio gathering two weeks ago, but his phone number changed.  Vic goes back to the Prodigy days around 1995.

#3 - Radio ethusiast Herb from Queens.  He goes  back to 1978 and was best man at my wedding in 1983.  He must be the only person on the face of the earth who does not own a computer.

#4 - Mom - I've known her since 1949.  I was glad to hear that she got over her cold

I haven't heard yet this night from radio enthusiast Alan.  He is invited to call as long as he doesn't talk about the "next event"

Cate Blanchett receives Golden Globe Nomination

I'm working late tonight at the NJIT Library (big yawn).  Due to the weather I was told that I may leave at 7 PM instead of 8 PM (whopee!)  Anyway I heard that Cate Blanchett received a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actress in her portrayal of Bob Dylan in I'm Not There.  Will she receive an Academy Award nomination?

Some thoughts at the End of the Semester

Today was the last day of classes at NJIT, my 31st semester there (plus summer sessions).  The university wide Holiday party was also today.  I spent part of the time sitting with Joe K of the Chemical Engineering Department and the rest of the time with my librarian colleagues.  I spent some time today working on publicizing the New Jersey Chemistry Olympics which will take place next May.  The one good thing about this semester is that we had a temporary librarian working the bulk of the time at the so called reference desk. Most of the time we refer students to the Circulation Desk for the stapler. The other times we sit there like a scarecrow. After all of these years there, it is a real drag sitting there and answering the same old questions.  The Beanie Boy just never gave me a chance to advance or even spread my wings laterally.  I think I've done some good work there, but I was never rewarded with a promotion.  As I was leaving one of the students from my Freshman Seminar class handed in the one assignment I gave them for the semester.  I asked them to submit a blog or just a diary with their reflections on their first semester at NJIT.  As of now only 9 of the 22 students submitted this assignment.  I gave them something that I thought they would enjoy doing, but they just didn't want to bother.  This is the 12th time I've taught Freshman seminar as a way to do something away from the library managment, but this too has become a drag. If students fail to do their assignments in more important courses, they will pay the consequences. To quote the Mothers of Invention, "I'm only in it for the Money."

                                           

                                   

At the end of the day I think "I'm going back to New York City, I do believe I've had enough."  People who know be would have no problem guessing who made that quote.  If you know that song, you'll also know that it is completely taken out of context.

Best Wishes To Alex Trebek

I just found out that Jeopardy host Alex Trebek suffered a minor heart attack.  Thanks for regular reader and radio enthusiast Frank D for sending the news to me.  The article states that Alex should be OK for the next series of tapings of Jeopardy in January.

Please see http://omg.yahoo.com/trebek-hospitalized-with-heart-attack/news/4727 for more information.

                                          

Channukah Dinner with the family

Karen, Lee and I met my mother at her apartment in Forest Hills and walked over to a nearby restaurant for dinner.  Of course, we had potato pancakes for Channukah among other things.  I really have to be thankful that my mother is still well at age 88.  She has some minor problems like arthritis, but thankfully nothing major.  It seems that longevity runs in her family since her older brother Abe is 90 and younger brother Sy is 85.  My grandmother lived until 90.  May they all live to 120.

American Museum of Naural History Today

A few weeks ago a librarian colleague who works at the Museum gave me some free tickets.  Since I hadn't been to the museum (http://amnh.org) in several years I thought I should go with Karen and Lee.  The featured attraction was "Water H2O=Life" which discussed the sustainable management and use of this life-giving, but finite resource.  One exhibit stated that tap water costs one cent per gallon while bottled water costs $10/gallon three times the cost of gasoline.  We also saw another exhibit call "Mythic Creatures - Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids".

Saturday Night Oldies was a short pre-recorded show tonight due to sports programming on WABC.  I was disappointed that nothing was said about the 27th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon

Lee Got the Final Jeopardy Question Right

The Final Jeopardy Category - Motown Singers

Answer - He added an e to his name because he didn't want people making fun of him.

The Correct Jeopardy Question - Who is Marvin Gaye

Lee got the answer within 5 seconds.  Pretty good for a 19 year old.  He had listened to WCBS-FM from birth until June 3, 2005 and from July 12, 2007 until today.  Whenever he saw a bus with an ad for Jack-FM he said a resounding BOO!

In fact Bob Shannon announced his birth on the air and Harry Harrison announced his Bar Mitzvah in May 2001.  We played the tape back at the reception.

Big Jeopardy Day for Me

The final Jeopardy question today was about a statement made by a notable woman in 1963.  The 3 contestants responded Jackie Kennedy.  My response was Lady Bird Johnson and I was correct.  I felt that Jackie Kennedy was too obvious for the final jeopardy question, so I responded Lady Bird Johnson.  I didn't win any money, but got a big high five from Karen and Lee.

Condolences to Linda C and family

My condolences to Linda C who lost her mother yesterday.  I met Linda in cyberspace in 1997 when we both posted on an AOL message board for fans of WCBS-FM.  Back then only AOL subscribers could access it, but now it is open to all.  You may try the following link to get to it:

http://messageboards.aol.com/aol/en_us/articles.php?boardId=83887&filterRead=true&filterHidden=true&filterUnhidden=false&func=3&channel=Music

There were only 6 - 8 regular posters on this folder.  In 2000, 2001, and 2003  I met her at small gatherings that I had organized at Mendy's Restaurant on 34th Street and Park Avenue.  I had to pick this strictly kosher restaurant to accommodate Al G who is orthodox.  So this virtual community became a real one.  I met Linda again at bigger gatherings of oldies radio enthusiasts in June 2006,  December 2006 and just last Saturday at Ben's Deli.  She mentioned her mother was quite ill.

Again, my condolences to her and her family at this very difficult time.

 

Imus in the Morning anecdote

There is much talk about the return of Imus in the morning to the New York radio waves less than a year after he made a stupid remark about the Rutgers womens basketball team.  I was never a big fan of talk radio and was indifferent to Imus.  At times I listen to sports talk on WFAN, but very irregularly.  If you want to read my entries of May 24, 2006 and May 24, 2007, you will see that Bob Dylan's birthday is a holiday in my household.  One year I was listening to WFAN the evening of May 23rd and set the clock radio to wake us up the next morning.  The second the radio went on Imus said "Today is Bob Dylan's Birthday."  My wife and I had a big laugh as we woke up.

Bought Tickets for Jersey Boys

Today I went to the August Wilson Theater to buy tickets for the Jersey Boys.  We are going on March 16th to celebrate Lee's birthday.  Broadway musicals are very expensive.  I spent $96.50 per ticket to sit in the back of the balcony.  The more expensive seats were $121.50.  As my cheap friend RH would say, it's the same show no matter where you sit.  By buying tickets at the theater I saved $7.50/ticket service charge.

                                                       

And the Hits just keep on Coming

I stole that line from the old WOR-FM. I have gotten about 70 hits to this journal in the last two days.  Right now I am listening to Norm N Nite as he makes a guest appearance on the WCBS-FM Radio Greats show.  I think I told this story to Alan, but my other radio enthusiast friends may not know this story.  In June 1998, Karen, Lee and I planned a trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.  We got to Laguardia Airport to wait for the flight and we see Norm N Nite waiting for the same plane.  He was friendly and spoke to us for a few minutes.

It was a little snowy in the morning.  It was only about an inch, but enough to make driving a little hazardous.  I listened to the entire 2 hours of Sounds of the Sixties in one session this morning.  I spoke to Roy over the phone.  I have a tradition of phoning him exacting at 9 AM on Sunday mornings.  He told me that he enjoyed I'm Not There.  Back in the late 1960s I walked with Roy to Forest Hills High School.  We talked about the WMCA and WABC surveys.  He loved Motown, especially Diana Ross and the Supremes.  I remember in October 1966 You Keep Me Hangin' On by the Supremes jumped from Good Guy Sureshot to #1 on the WMCA survey.  He was in seventh heaven.

Getting back to today.  As I have mentioned before it is always nice to have a movie multiplex in the neighborhood on bad weather days.  We see the movie Beowulf.  Again, nothing to get excited about.

Meet and Greet for Oldies Radio Enthusiasts

Today I attended a gathering of oldies radio enthusiasts at Ben’s Deli in Manhattan to celebrate the second anniversary of Saturday Night Oldies.  It was quite a successful event with 75 attendees.  There were similar events on June 3, 2006 and December 2, 2006.  The highlight of the afternoon was a little speech given by former WCBS-FM Dj Bobby Jay.  Bobby was let go on June 3, 2005 when the station all of a sudden became Jack- FM.  He has yet to appear on the new WCBS-FM that commenced on July 12, 2007.  He was very forthcoming and sincere with his radio enthusiast friends.  He made some comment that out of respect for him, I will not repeat here.  He has a radio gig on Sirius Satellite Radio.  Above is a picture of yours truly with Bobby.  Boy, do I look terrible.  The photos that I took may be seen at http://picasaweb.google.com/Bigtownman/BensDeliDec12007

 

 

 

 

 

1000 posts in 2 months!

On October 2nd this journal reached 3000 hits.  Today it reached the 4000 mark.  I really wonder who is lurking out there.  I am aware of the following people who make comments or just lurk:

NJIT People

Din (past)

Mike B (past)

Erin

Heather

Galen

Radio Enthusiasts

Alan B

Frank D

Dave D

Several oldies enthusiasts have asked my for the mp3 of Noshville Katz

Forest Hill High School Alumni

Mike S

Baseball Enthuiasts

Louise from Minnesota

I am wonder who else has found this journal.  If so please let me who you are.  Are there any Bob Dylan enthusiasts lurking?  My e-mail is BruceS8852@aol.com.

Thanks