Mets Win the 2008 Subway Series 4 games to 2

After the big win on Friday afternoon things went downhill for the Mets.  They lost the second game of the Friday Day-Night Doubleheader 9-0.  Yesterday the Yankees beat them in a squeaker 3-2.  When the game began today we didn't know which Oliver Perez would show up.  He was really sharp as the Mets won today 3-1 and won 4 of the 6 in this years Subway Series.

At the halfway point the Mets are 40-41.  The change of managers did not make a difference.  I don't see the Amazins improving much over the second half.  They may luck out since the NL East is weak this year, but their hitting must improve. Ryan Church came back today and Moises Alou is scheduled back next weekend.  The Yankees are about 6 game over .500, but must get better pitiching to get into the playoffs.  They must defeat the Red Sox and hope that the Tampa Bay Rays fade in the second half. There is still a long way to go.

 

Radio Exhibits at the Rock Hall

There was an exhibit on the second floor which showed how radios and record players evolved over the years.  It started with the Thomas Edision era and proceeded through vinyl records, 8-track tapes, cassettes, CDs, MP3 players and satellite radio.  Downstairs there was an interactive exhibit where on a computer screen you can touch a decade, city and find the predominant radio personalities and hear a short aircheck.  So for NYC in the 1960s there was Cousin Bruce Morrow, Harry Harrison, Ron Lundy, Scott Muni and Herb Oscar Anderson among others.  The late Jackson Armstrong was listed for Cleveland although he worked in many radio stations in various cities.  This will be my last entry about our trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - Day 2

If you are going to make a trip to Cleveland to see the Rock Hall, you must give yourself two days to see it.  On day 2, we went to the second floor to see a small exhibit on soul music which fetured artifacts from Otis Redding.  The next exhibt titled Architects of Rock and Roll featuring Les Paul, Alan Freed and Sam Phillips.  After the payola scandals Alan Freed died in 1965 at the age of 43.  I wonder if he had lived if he could have made a comeback in the radio business.  The second floor also featured an interesting exhibit on Rolling Stone Magazine.  In a corner (we almost missed it) there were wall plaques honoring Bo Diddley and Mike Smith of the Dave Clark Five who recently passed away.  Up to the third floor where there was a multimedia production lasting about an hour that combined film footage, music and interviews of the inductees by the year of their induction.

On level four there were the Hall of Fame Inductee Jukeboxes.  You can ask for the Rolling Stones and then hear any or all of their songs from single or album releases.  We could only spend so much time time there.  I can listen to music at home any time that I want to.

From there we return to the ground floor to review in detail some of the artificacts we saw the first day.  We also saw the first day of Mike McCartney's (Paul's brother) photography exhibit from Liverpool  in the 1960s.  Back then Mike was know as Mike McGear as he was part of  a group called the Scaffold which charted with "Thank You Very Much."

Vacations are very short and when you return home it is back to reality.  When you are on vacation, you should enjoy activities not available to you at home.  There was a computer in the lobby of our hotel, but I just stopped by for a 10 or 15 minute e-mail check.  What is the sense of spending hours surfing the web on vacation, when you can do it at home.

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - Baseball Rocks and More

 

When we entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame we were told that photographs were not allowed since the artificacts were donated with the condition that they not be photographs so I could only take pictures outside.  We first went to the Ahmet M. Ertegun Main Exhibit Hall on the lower level where we first saw the Baseball Rocks exhibit.  You could press a button and hear Take Me Out to the Ball Game sung by Harry Carey and Terry Cashman's Talkin' Baseball among other baseball related songs.  The lower level was full of artifacts including clothing, original records, and musical instruments played by the musicians.  There were two short films called Mystery Train and Kick Out the Jams.  We spent most of our first day in this area.  Later on we moved up to the 5th floor to see a special exhibition featuring an exhibit about the filming of the Beatles' movie Help! in 1965.  There was also a Sirius Radio studio there where we saw Larry Morrow doing his show.  I was told many times that Norm N. Nite does his show there on Saturdays and Sundays.  Finally, we went up to the 6th floor with an exhibit called Break on Through:  The Lasting Legacy of the Doors.

Anyone can see my photos of the trip at http://picasaweb.google.com/Bigtownman/Cleveland2008 

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Digression - The Bronx is Burning

In the first game of a two stadium day-night doubleheader the Mets annihilated the Yankees 15-6 with Carolos Delgado hitting two home runs and driving in 9 runs to set a Mets record.  Game Summary.  Perhaps the Distinguished Professor of Saturday Night Oldies who was at the game in the Bronx can provide some details.

Cleveland Trip Day 1 - Cleveland Indians Game

This year we obviously did not go on the Jay Buckley Baseball Tour as we did the past two summers.  We wanted to visit the Rock Hall, so we intentially picked a date when the Cleveland Indians were at home.  This week major league baseball was in interleague play so we saw the Indians play the San Francisco Giants at Progressive Field which was within walking distance of our hotel.  This was the first time that the Giants played in Cleveland since the 1954 World Series.  Giant Shortstop Omar Vizquel got the biggest hand since he played for many years for the Indians.  In a close game the Giants beat the Indians 3-2.  Game Summary.

 

 

Cleveland Trip Day 1 Part 1 - Great Lakes Science Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made excellent time traveling to Cleveland.  We were settled in our hotel by 11 AM and had most of the day ahead of us.  We walked over to the Great Lakes Science Center which is right next to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  It was similar in scope to the Hall of Science in Corona, Queens.  They showed a movie on the Mars Rover in their IMAX Theater.  There was also a special exhibit on the life and theories of Albert Einstein that was suited for the lay public.  Below is a picture of Karen with the Distinguished Professor of Physics.

 

 

Arrived in Cleveland

We arrived in Cleveland and were settled in the hotel at 11 AM.  The hotel has a PC in the lobby.  I don't want to spend hours a day on the computer, so I will be brief here.  We weent to the Great Lakes Science Museum today and will go to the Indians game tonight.  I will write detailed journal entires when I get home this weekend.

Leaving for Cleveland Tomorrow

We are leaving tomorrow morning from Laguardia Airport to visit Cleveland mainly to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  We did this trip in 1998, but obviously museums do change over time. Last year when we were on the Jay Buckley Baseball Tour we saw a Cleveland Indians game, but did not have time to stop at the Rock Hall. I am eager to get away from the work and commuting grind.  In this "information age" people even check their work e-mail when they are vacation.  I even know someone who did that when she went to Greece.  The NJIT Library  will be there next Monday.  Most hotels now offer wireless internet access, but I don't have a laptop computer.  Perhaps this hotel will have a small computer lab, but maybe I should keep away.  I guess I should also take a vacation from the radio message boards.  I will take my personal stereo to check out the radio stations in Cleveland.  I used to make airchecks when I visited a city, but now most radio stations stream.  I will take a pa of paper and will make notes for my journal entries of the trip.  I will return on Friday.

Get Smart the Movie

Producers of movies just don't have any new ideas so they just make new movies based on old TV series. We went to the local multiplex to see it. I have no other comments, but Get Smart was the #1 movie for this weekend.

Spotlight on the late Salty Brine - WPRO (AM) Providence

Many readers of this journal may not know that I was a student at the University of Rhode Island (URI) from 1972-74 where I obtained my masters degree in chemistry.  URI was about 30 miles south of Providence and 160 miles away from NYC.  During most times I could get NYC AM stations.  Back then AM radio was king and everybody in Rhode Island listened to WPRO and Salty Brine in the morning.  This man really generated excitement on the radio.  I fondly listened to him as I drove to school all those years ago.    Sadly, a year later in 2004 Salty passed away.  It was noted that he was born and died in years that the Boston Red Sox won the World Series.  I'm sure he was smiling last October.  There is actually a Salty Brine State Beach in southern Rhode Island.  I'd love to see Coney Island renamed the Cousin Bruce Morrow Beach or Rockaway named the Harry Harrison Beach.  Salty's son Wally Brine does a morning show at WROR Boston.

Alley Pond Park Today

It was a nice today so we took a drive out to Alley Pond Park in eastern Queens.  We also stopped by at a Dunkin Donuts and had ice coffee and a glazed donut.  I am listening to SAturdy night oldies right now.  Mark Simone is now interviewing Tony Orlando.

Corned Beef Sandwich Today

I am intentionally not posting a photo of a corned beef sandwich with the journal entry since I don't want to annoy a regular reader of this journal from the midwest where there are not New York style kosher delis.  The tables were turned today.  Karen went to work at a local school while Lee and I had the day off.  The two of us went to Crocheron Park in Bayside where we got some exercise and some reading done.  I read the current issues of Sports Illustrated and the Sporting News while Lee finished one of his Harry Potter books.  From there we went to Ben's Deli and had enjoyable lunch.  I am on vacation, let me enjoy myself.

                                                 Crocheron Park

Spotlight on WYNY

This time I will discuss my experiences with a defunct radio station.  Again, this is not to be an exhaustive history of WYNY.  When I returned to New York in late 1978 after two years in New London, CT my favorite radio station was WYNY.  Back then it played a good mix of oldies and current hits.  At that time popular music was still mainstream.  The station featured some classic personalities including Dan Daniel, Randy Davis, Bill St. James, Bruce Bradley, Steve O'Brien and Mike McCann.Who could forget Sexually Speaking with Dr. Ruth Westheimer?  My favorite show was the syndicated Soundtrack of the Sixties with Gary Owens heard on Sunday mornings.  Sadly, two program directors brought the station down in the mid 1980s.  Dan Daniel was replaced in morning drive by a couple of clowns called Harris and Harris.  At that point I switched to WCBS-FM.  Anyway, WYNY was facing competition from WLTW and changed their music mix.  Only July 1, 1987 the station changed its Adult Contemporary format to country music.  In a complicated transaction the station was sold and moved to 103.5 FM in October 1988.  It stayed as a country station until February 1996 when it became WKTU with a rhythmic format.  Country music has not been on a regular New Yorkl City FM station since then. The WYNY call letters were resurrected for a few years on 107.1 FM which was heard  in the suburbs. Since I have an HD radio, I can get country music on WKTU-HD2.  The only WYNY personalities still active in New York radio are Steve O'Brien who is heard ocassionally on WCBS-FM and Mike McCann who does sports updates on WFAN.

On vacation until June 30

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't have to commute to beautiful downtown Newark or answer routine questions until Monday June 30.  I am just going to stay at home until Tuesday when we take off for Cleveland to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Tuesday.  Details on the trip will be in this journal next week.

Tale of the Bean Counter - June 18, 2008

Are any readers of this journal proficient in using Photoshop?  I really want to take the cigar and the smoke out of this bean counter's picture. I guess we should also color the little hair on his head white instead of brown.  Otherwise I have a perfect picture of today's event from 10 AM - 11:30 AM.  As you can see the bean counter is missing a bundle of cash denied to him by the administrators.

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words

I thank my colleague Matt Brown for sending me this.

Omar Minaya has no class

I woke up this morning and heard on the radio that Willie Randolph was fired as Mets manager.  The team has been mediocre all listen with about a .500 record with a $138 Million payroll.  You can't fire the team, so the manager gets the boot.  Why did general manager Omar Minaya fire Willie after he won two games in a row?  Why did he go out to Los Angeles to fire him at 3 AM New York time?  Omar made some very bad trades that have rarely been discussed in the media.  Over the past two years he traded pitchers Brian Bannister, Matt Lindstrom, Heath Bell, and Royce Ring and has absolutely nothing to show for it.  He is the one who offered multiyear and megamillion contracts to players who are not performing.  I think the Wilpons should have fired him.

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Spotlight on WCBS-FM

This journal entry is not meant to be an exhaustive treatise on WCBS-FM.  Interested readers can look at the home page, tribute site and Wikipedia entry.

I did not listen to WCBS-FM in its early days. When I started in the early 1980s, I listened to Norm N. Nite's Top 20 Countdown and Jack Spector's Sock Hop. I started to listen  more often in 1984 after WYNY fired Dan Daniel and hired a couple of clowns called Harris and Harris to do the morning show. My fondest memories of the station include:

The Harry Harrison Birthday Book - on most years I sent in Lee's birthday to be read over the air  I taped Harry's announcing Lee's Bar Mitzvah in May 2001 and played it at the reception.  Lee did pick the music to be played with a little help from his Dad.  Only two Dylan songs and one Dylan cover were played.  Actually Lee's birth was announced by Bob Shannon with the dedication of It's A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong.

Tuesday Night Trivia with Bob Shannon - He had this contest in the mid 1980s when his show aired in the evening.  The questions were tough, but there were no prizes.  Back then I had a rotary dial phone and usually lost out to some of the contest nuts.

Like thousands of other loyal listeners, I was aghast at the format change to the dreaded Jack on June 3, 2005.  There is no sense to talk about it further.  Lee used to boo when he saw buses with the ad for Jack-FM.  Fortunately, the new management at CBS radio came to their senses and restored a modified version of the oldies station.  It was re-branded as the greatest hits of the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

No radio station is perfect nor can please all of its listeners all of the time.  Like many others I prefere the 50s and early 60s to the 70s and 80s music that predominated their playlist now.  Regular readers of this journal must know that I listen to many radio stations.  Karen listens to WCBS-FM a lot more than I.

Fiddler on the Roof on Father's Day

I always like to look through the local Queens newspapers to find unique events that are reasonably priced.  We can't go to movies and ball games all the time.  I found out about  Theatre by the Bay, a community theatre group of the Bay Terrace Jewish Center located only 10 minutes away.  During June this group produced Fidler on the Roof which originally appeared on the Broadway stage in the 60s.  The performance was very good, but obviously not the same quality as the original Broadway show.  The music was recorded while the sets were very simple.  We enjoyed it.

On the way home I stopped for gas at an Exxon Station and had to pay $4.40/gallon.  Thankfully, I don't have to drive to work.  When we got home we were able to catch the last 4 innings of the Mets doubleheader against Texas.  The won the nightcap 4-2 after losing the first game 8-7.

The Met Game was rained out tonight

Tonight was the first game in my 7-pack of tickets that include the last game to be played at Shea Stadium.  The weather forecast said showers, but nothing about a sustained rainfall.  Once we got to the stadium it started to rain.  Finally at 8:20 the game was called off.  We at least got 3 models of Shea Stadium.  I feel sorry for people who had to travel a long way.  I got home in time for the last hour of Saturday Night Oldies.

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Spotlight on WBGO

Some of the best radio programming is at the left of the FM dial which is devoting to non-commercial statements.  I believe that NYC lost its last commercial jazz station in the early 1980s when WRVR became WKHK (country) and later WLTW.  WBGO  started in 1979 as the radio station of the Newark Board of Education.  Shortly after that it became a traditional jazz station as opposed to CD101.9 which played smooth jazz until February 2008 when it changed format.  I am not an expert on jazz music, but I listen as a change of pace.  My NJIT colleague Joe says that other non-commerical jazz stations have a much broader playlist.  Right now I am listening to Felix's Hernandez's Rhythm Revue, a specialty show, which plays classic soul music.  I usually listen to WBGO at home over the Internet since the reception in Queens is spotty.  Their studios and transitter is in Newark within walking distance of NJIT.

Spotlight on WFUV

This will be in the first of a series of journal entries discussing various radio stations.  I will discuss each station from my point of view.  If you are interested in reading the details about the station please check out their website.  I started to listen to them in the early 1990s.  I remember seeing a listing in the New York Times for a special day of programming honoring Bob Dylan's birthday on May 24th.  For all of these years it has been my "change of pace" station.  They play a lot of folk music or a format in radio business jargon Adult Album Alternative.  It is a not for profit station affiliated with Fordham University in the Bronx.  Many WFUV alumni such as Vin Scully have become distinugished broadcasters.  I used to listen to Ben Soper in the evening, but he moved on years ago.  I usually listen to Claudia Marshall's morning show for about 1/2 hour.  legendary New York personality Pete Fornatale started as a student back in the 1960s, but later returned to the station.  His Mixed Bag show is heard 4 PM - 8 PM on Saturdays.  I also listen to part of John Platt's Sunday Morning Breakfast.  I suggest that readers of this journal at least check it out.

Check out Dave DuBrow's Journal File

My good friend Dave DuBrow initiated his Journal File several months ago.  However, he now has his own domain which makes the address much easier to remember.  Please check it out at http://www.davedubrow.net  .

Oy Vey! Between Bob Dylan and the Mets - 9 New DVDs

First of all, I ordered this 6 DVD set showing six amazing at Shea Stadium:

1. Game 4 of the 1969 World Series against Baltimore

2. Game 3 of the 1986 NLCS vs Houston

3. Game 6 of the 1986 World Series against Boston (I'll buy an extra copy for Pagebyrner)

4.Game 5 of  the 1999 NLCS vs Atlanta featuring Robin Ventura's grand slam single.

5. September 21, 2001 against Atlanta, the first sporting event in NYC after the 9/11 tragedy

6 May 19, 2006 vs the Yankees

There are also special features of other historic event at Shea Stadium

I stopped by the Borders in Penn Station before going to work today.  I bought:

Bob Dylan 1978-1989 Both Ends of the Rainbow (a documentary)

Bob Dylan in Performance (a 2 DVD set)

I will have to find the time to watch all of this!

DVD of the Day

When I ordered the DVD of the Byrds I also requested the DVD John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.  This  video described how John's first album after the breakup of the Betles was made.  It includes interviews with Jann Wenner, Yoko Ono, Klaus Voorman, and Ringo Starr among others. Since there were no Met or Yankee games on TV tonight, we had time to watch it.  It is sad to think what music John would have made had henot been tragically taken away from us on December 8, 1980.

Revisiting the 1964/65 New York Worlds Fair on a Hot Day

On a very hot day we took a walk to the Queens Historical Society to here local historian Pierre Montiel talk about the 1964/65 Worlds Fair that was held in Flushing Meadows Park.  He showed about 100 slides featuring attractions including exhibits by General Motors, Ford, New York State, the Vatican, Johnson's Wax, Bell Telephone, and IBM among many others.  It brought back many memories of my going there as a 15 year old with either my friends or family.  It is really a shame that there was never another Worlds Fair in the metropolitan area.  Mr. Montiel said that it cost about $1 Billion in 1964 dollars so the cost today would be prohibitively high.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Since this is the third weekend that this movie has been out, I thought it would be safe to go to the muliplex to see it without waiting on a long line. It was still playing on three screens. I guess I am getting old. I think these fantasy movies are good for scenery, special effects, and fights. The story in the movie was just too far fetched. Lee said he enjoyed it.

Jazz Concert in the Neighborhood

I really wanted to do something different this weekend.  For years I have passed by Flushing Town Hall and noticed that they featured concerts.  On most Friday evenings I would be too tired to do anything, but over the summers I  would like to take advantage of the 3 day weekends so we went to a concert there last night with the Jeb Patton Trio .  I became somewhat interested in traditional jazz by listening to WBGO  whose studios are within walking distance on NJIT in Newark.  Most of the audiences were senior citizens.  Speaking of seniors, I ran into an old friend, Lenny, who I knew years ago through Queens Bnai Brith Singles.  I hand't seen Lenny for at least 20 years.  I was active in that group from 1978-81.  Back then I thought the members were using the group as a substitute for dating.  I did make several long time friends in that group.

Three Day Weekends All Summer

One of the perks of working for a university is having lots of time off.  I get 20 vacation days, 3 personal days, and the week off between Christmas and New Years.  For many years we were given a 30 hour work week during the summers by having to work one hour less each day.  About 5 years ago the NJIT administration decided that in order to save money on energy we could work 30 hours in 4 days.  By closing the university on Fridays they save $200,000 every year by not providing air conditioning and lights for that one day.  Everybody just loves it.

I Don't Need an IPOD

I started collecting records in 1964 at the time the Beatles came to America.  In the late 1970s I started to collect 8-track tapes and then cassette tapes.  I have plenty of  cassettes of  recording artists plus several hundred radio tapes.  Many of these tapes I made by recording New York Radio stations over the years.  Other tapes I received through trades with other collectors.  In fact last June on the WABC Rewound Cruise I met Rob Frankel who restores tapes to be played each Memorial Day on the Rewound broadcast.  He was impressed by my collection of radio tapes from cities all over the country with different music and talk formats.  I stopped making tapes a few years ago since there is homogenization of radio format and because I can get most radio stations over the Internet.  I still have a cassette walkman like the one in the photo above..  Twice a month I take it to listen to and from work on the trains.  Today I listened to a tape of Barry Scott's Lost 45s from 1996 which was then heard on WBMX Boston. Today the show is heard Sunday nights on WODS Boston which I can get online.  Twice a month I take my personal CD Player/Radio instead of reading on the trains.  I must be one of the only people without an IPOD.  It would take me forever to digitize all my music and transfer it to an IPOD.

Patience was a virtue today

Throught my career I have taught many students, faculty, and staff to find technical and popular information from online databases.  Students at a technological university are very savvy and learn how to search very easily.  We actually try to take them away from Google to databases which provide more reliable information.  Last week I received a phone call from an older woman, a Professor of English Literature.  She asked for an appointment for me to teach her how to search.  She also told me that she becam agoraphobic and there was no medication that could help her with that condition.  She needed information about a certain poet.  I worked very slowly with her going through each step to demonstrate how to find the information she would need.  The elderly gentleman in the photo above seems quite happy to take a listen from his grandson.  The Professor seemed to want to learn, but she was extremely slow in picking up the technique that I have taught to thousands of students over the years.  She wants to see me again.  I was very careful to be extremely patient with her.  During the lesson, she received a cell phone call.  If she can learn the cell phone, I am sure she will evenutally master the computer.

Extra!!! Extra!!! Bob Dylan is coming to Brooklyn in August

I got some unexpected good news today.  Bob Dylan's Never Ending Tour is coming to Brooklyn's Prospect Park on August 12th.  I am usually the first to know when these things will come up but I must be spending too much time on the radio message boards and not enough time on the Dylan folders. At 9:50 this morning I received and e-mail from my NJIT colleague Heather saying that she got a message from a Brooklyn blog stating that Dylan will be playing in Prospect Park in August.  It gave a link to the Tickemaster site which stated that the pre-sale starts at 10 AM today.  I went to the Bob Dylan website to get the password.  I wasted no time.  At 10:02 I bought the tickets.  Ticketmaster is ripoff at $12/ticket as a service charge, but what else can you do.  There is no other way to buy the tickets.  I have not been to that part of Brooklyn in many years.  Back in 1970-71 my fraternity at City College had a house at the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Parkside Avenue a few blocks away.  Now I really have something to look forward to.  The last time we saw Dylan was in November 2006 at the Nassau Colisseum.  He came to Jones Beach lat June but we already made arrangements for the baseball tour.  I will follow the set lists for the concerts earlier in August.

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Radio Station Contests

 

For the most part I don't get involved in radio station contests.  They are just a gimmick to get people to listen more often. Right now WCBS-FM is running a contest where the 11th caller wins tickets to the station's 35th anniversary concert in Jones Beach at the end of June. Back in the mid 1980s Bob Shannon ran a Tuesday Night Trivia contest.  There were no prizes, but just the glory of getting the right answer.  Back then I had a rotary dial phone and was usually beaten out.  One Sunday morning about 7:30 at the spur of the moment I phoned into Gary Clark and answered a question about the Temptations and won a video of their peformance at a concert.  A few years ago I listened to Holly Levis at 10:45 PM and won tickets to see the Righteous Brothers at Westbury.  A few weeks later Bobby Hatfield passed away.

I know there are some "contest nuts" out there who are obsessive about winning.  I know one person who wins and has to give away the prize because she can't go to the concert.  I understand that she actually recieved a letter from the station forbidding her to win contests, but she gets around it by using names of relatives.  To each his own.