One Major Reason Music Stores are Going Out of Business

I was in the Bay Terrace Shopping Mall this afternoon, so I stepped into FYE, which to my knowledge is the only music store still left in Queens. I browsed around and looked at prices. I was interested in the new CD Electric Dirt by Levon Helm (formerly of the Band). Their price was $19.99 while the price at Amazon.com was $7.99. Of course, I waited until I got home and ordered it online. I don't mind waiting a few days for it to come in the mail. Since I ordered 3 CDs for about $27, I got free shipping. If I need a new CD in a hurry I can always download it through Itunes or Amazon.com. I have done that a few times, but not recently.

Birthdate of Casey Stengel/Anniversary of Joyce and Keith

Casey was born July 30, 1890. He managed both the Mets and Yankees and had his uniform #37 retired by both teams.

Also, Happy Anniversary to my sister Joyce and husband Keith. They were married 26 years ago today. I remembered to send a card.

Psychedelic Classic Hit of the Day - I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night by the Electric Prunes

If I had to dream about information literacy, then I eally had too much to dream last night. Is there any way I can stop work related thoughts while I am sleeping?

Bob Dylan Song of the Day - Dark Eyes

Did you have the experience when a song came on the radio, you just dropped everything to listen to it? That happened to me at work of all places. I usually listen to the radio through the internet when I arrive and do mundane chores such as checking e-mail. At about 8:40 AM Don McGee the DJ on WFUV announced that a Bob Dylan song would be played after the news break. Since WFUV has such a wide playlist, I couldn't even venture a guess as to what Dylan song would be played. He played Dark Eyes as it appeared on the Empire Burlesque album released in 1986 which I have in vinyl. Please check out the lyrics.

I saw Bob and Patti Smith sing this as a duet in December 1995 at the Beacon Theater. The Youtube video below was taken in Philadelphia during the same tour.

Trip to the Oral Surgeon Today

I went to the oral surgeon this morning to have an implant placed where I had a tooth extracted a few months ago. I am far from finished. The last step which will not take place for 6 months is the placement of a crown to replace the tooth.

Everything went well.

Yes, this is a very boring entry. Who wants to read about someone elses dental problems? I remember years ago my mother had gum problems and had to go a periodontist. She would bore my father and me by talking about her dental procedures.

End of entry :)

Happy Recap at Citifield last night

We usually don't go to ball games during the week, but last night's Met game was part of our 15 game package. I went from work directly to Citifield. Since I got there a little early I walked around the parking lot and found plagues marking the spots of the bases and the pitching rubber at Shea Stadium. As I entered Citifield, it started to rain in buckets. It stopped pretty quickly, but the game was delayed about 15 minutes. The Mets fell behind the Colorado Rockies, but the game was tied after 7 innings. In the bottom of the 8th Fernando Tatis hit a pinch hit grand slam home run to lead the Mets to a 7-3 victory. It is certainly nice to see the home run apple come up. in 1999 Tatis hit two grand slam home runs in an inning. His grand slam last night was the first pinch hit grand slam for the Mets since 2000.

Box Score

Broadway Show at Hofstra University

Broadway shows are very expensive. Last year we paid $100/ticket to see Jersey Boys for Lee's birthday. I also like a little variety in my "entertainment diet". I can't watch baseball games or listen to my radios all the time so I am always looking to try different forms of entertainment at different venues at a reasonable price. I found out about "I'm the Greatest Star" a Broadway musical review playing at Hofstra University. A few years ago we saw a remake of "Grease" there.

I was really luck that when we arrived at the theater we got one of the last seats left. I learned my lesson to order tickets in advance. This show was in a lecture hall that was converted into a theater for this show. It paid tribute to many of Broadway's greatest stars including Julie Andrews, Yul Brynner, Carol Channing, Nathan Lane, Zero Mostel, and Jerry Orbach among many others. The cast members sang selections from many songs heard on Broadway from 1900 to the present. We saw the last showing. For more information, please see:

http://www.hofstra.edu/Home/News/PressReleases/061609_GreatestStar.html

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

We have seen all of the Harry Potter movies so we walked over to the local multiplex to see the latest. I have learned to never see a movie the first weekend it was released since it is always crowded. I guess it is the "in thing to do" to see a movie the first week of its release. So on week #2 it was playing on 4 of the 12 screens. At the 11:50 am show, the theater was less than 1/2 full. We enjoyed it. I suggest you check out the following web sites:

http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/harrypotterandthehalf-bloodprince/#/home

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417741/

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809791044/info

Finally an HD2 station with some personality

HD radio has not been greatly accepted to date. There are some technical problems relating to the signal. It is very hard to get reception of the HD signal unless you live relatively close to the transmitter. A radio enthusiast would be likely to purchase a special FM antenna, while a casual listener would not. Another problem is that the programming on HD2 stations are essentially just music streams. The selling point is that a subscription for these stations are not required as they are for Sirius/XM.

I reported that the country station in NYC has been moved to 106.7 HD2. This stations does have a voice tracked DJ who comments on the music. Hopefully this enhancement will move to other HD2 stations. I have resisted the temptation to buy the first portable HD radio on the market.

Nice Surpise on Jeopardy's last show of the 25th Season

It is hard to believe that it is 25 years since the current version with Alex Trebek first took the air. I was pleasantly surprised to see a Bob Dylan category on tonight's show. Of course, I got all 5 questions correct. Lee made a mistake as he was confused about the Dylan films "Masked and Anonymous" and "I 'm Not There." The final Jeopardy question was about the #1 song in September 1984. It was Tina Turner's What's Love Got to Do With it. I'll have to find something else to do at 7 PM for the next 6 weeks as reruns will be aired.

Random Thoughts on a Staycation Day

I drove out to Cunningham Park this morning to get some exercise.

I read this week's Sports Illustrated. There were article about the best baserunners in major league baseball, Ron Artest who recently signed with the L.A. Lakers, and Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow.

I got home at 12 noon in time to listen to the Beatles on Q-104.3. Maria Melito played a set of 3 George Harrison songs. At 12:15 I turned on 106.7-HD2 to hear Classic Lite for the last time. Tomorrow country music is supposed to move to that station.

At 12:30, I turned on the Meredith Viera version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire but at 12:35 it was interrupted a news report about elected officials in New Jersey who were arrested for corruption. This was important, but I didn't enough to break into scheduled programming. If this happened during Jeopardy I really would have been pissed off.

I went downstairs to read. About a week ago I purchased from Amazon the book So You Want to be a Rock'N'Roll Star, The Byrds Day by Day 1965-73. I have read biographies of the Byrds and its members, but this volume gives a detailed account of what the group did every day. Sometimes reading all the details can be boring. This was a heavy coffee taqble book which I can not schlep on the trains to work next week so I have to read it at home.

While I was sitting I brought my personal stereo to listen if I wanted to take a break from reading. I made the mistake of listening to Rush Limbaugh on WABC who was making derogatory remarks about President Obama and various United States Senators whom he doesn't like. If anyone reading this journal catches me listening to Limbaugh again, please come to my house and steal all my radios. Hmm.. should I post this on some radio message boards. :)

I then turned on Mike Francesa on WFAN who complained that ESPN TV and radio did not report the situation about Ben Roethlisberger, since he is a favorite of that organization.

I decided to walk down the block to the public library to check out a book that is light enough for me to schlep to work. I found Miracle Ball: My Hunt for the Shot Heard 'Round the World by Birian Biegel and radio personality Pete Fornatale. This is aobut the home run that Bobby Thompson hit off Ralph Branca in the 1951 National League playoff. While I was in the library I heard two people arguing about taking too long on a computer. I hear enough of this at NJIT, do I really want to hear about it on my vacation. Believe me, when I go to the public library, I find my book, check it out and leave. I don't need any more library aggravation.

When I came home and started surfing the web I got a phone call from contest enthusiast Cara Sieden. There was a question on B-103 about what hit did Rod Stweart sing with the Temptations. I didn't know the answer immediately, but I was able to look it up in my Joel Witburn book which lists every hit that was ever charted. It was the Motown Song recorded in 1991, I don't know if Cara won the contest.

Tomorrow is another day.

New Home for Country Music in NYC

I just found out that country music will move to 106.7 HD2 on Friday. That is now known as Classic Lite. I thought that it was too much like WCBS-FM and was somewhat redundant in its playlist.

New York City Loses Country Music on the Radio Again

1996 was the last time that country music was heard on the regular FM airwaves in New York City. I don't want to give anyone a long radio history lesson here, but In February 1996 country music ended on WYNY at 103.5 FM. At that point in time it became WKTU as a rhythmic/dance station billed as the Beat of New York. Since that time there were a few suburbans stations who played country music, but they changed formats. When HD2 radio stations became available in 2006, 103.5 HD2 became a country music station.

Today 103.5 HD2 became a rhythmic station appealing to a gay and lesbian audience. It is now known as Pride Radio. I believe that the owner Clear Channel has this format on HD2 stations in othr markets. Right now I am listening to country music on Sirius/XM. People in NYC who like country music will have to get it from internet streams.

Paul McCartney at Citifield Last Night

Back in 1965 when the Beatles appeared at Shea Stadium, I just didn't have the money to buy tickets. Earlier in the day I found in our VHS collection a tape of the Beatles at Shea. Murray the K and Cousin Bruce Morrow were the announcers. The stage was set up in the middle of the stadium as the Beatles sang for only 35 minutes. The screams of the girls in the audience drowned out the singing.

It rained for most of the day and I was just hoping that the weather would not put a damper on the concert literally, We arrived at Citifield at 6:40. I am always an early bird :). The stage was set up in deep center field. Obviously many of the seats for baseball could not be used since people there could not see the stage. There were seats on the playing field. Nothing happened until 7:25 when an opening called Smith from Dublin, Ireland took the stage and played for 45 minutes. The people in the audience were of all ages ranging from small children to seniors who listened to the Beatles in the 1960s. Lee wore his t-shirt of the Beatles at Shea. This extra time gave people the opportunity to buy food and beer. This is fine, but I just can't understand why people must leave their seats to buy the overpriced beer as this concert is likely a once in a lifetime event, while one can drink beer anytime.

Finally, at 9 PM, Sir Paul and his backup band took the stage. Whenever, I went to Bob Dylan concerts I always had to guess what songs he was playing. Sometimes it would take me a minute or to guess the song if it were one of his rarities. Friday's set list appeared in Sunday's New York Times. So we knew what song was coming up as the set list was the same. I was unfamiliar with just a few songs that Paul recorded as a solo artist.

I especially enjoyed Paul's version of George Harrison's Something. He started playing a ukelele and then moved to a guitar. Photos of George were shown on a screen in the background. Paul made a tribute to John by playing Here Today and Give Peace a Chance. Another highlight was the fireworks display during Live or Let Die. Paul certainly has his voice after all these years of performing. Bob Dylan's voice has obviously declined after all these years of giving concerts.

Billy Joel did not appear as he did on Friday. I was also hoping for Ringo Starr, but he wasn't there. It is obviously imposible to play everything in the catalog. I would have liked to have heard Penny Lane and Coming Up. There was a warning for people not to take photos and videos, but I saw many people with cameras. If you do a search on Youtube under McCartney and Citifield you will see many amateur videos. At the top of this entry you will see Paul seeing I'm Down which was played both at Shea and Citifield. I'm Down was the B side of Help, but was not heard in the film.

Set list:

“Drive My Car”
“Jet”
“Only Mama Knows”
“Flaming Pie”
“Got To Get You Into My Life”
“Let Me Roll It” (with a “Purple Haze” coda)
“Highway”
“The Long and Winding Road”
“My Love”
“Blackbird”
“Here Today”
“Dance Tonight”
“Calico Skies”
“Mrs. Vandebilt”
“Eleanor Rigby”
“Sing the Changes”
“Band on the Run”
“Back in the U.S.S.R.”
“I’m Down”
“Something” (on ukulele)
“I’ve Got a Feeling”
“Paperback Writer”
“A Day in the Life”/“Give Peace a Chance”
“Let It Be”
“Live and Let Die”
“Hey Jude”
“Day Tripper”
“Lady Madonna”
“I Saw Her Standing There”
“Yesterday”
“Helter Skelter”
“Get Back”
“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (reprise)/“The End”

Yearly Tour of Rego Park

Usually in May I take a tour of Rego Park, Queens where I grew up. For some reason this May I was not motivated to do it. About a month ago I had a long telephone conversation with Richard Jacoby who was a friend of mine all those years ago. He was trying to reconnect with several of the kids who hung around the PS 139 schoolyard back then. So today while I am on staycation I decided to take my yearly tour with my camera. The photo above is of 61-40 Saunders Street where I lived with my parents from 1951 (age 2) until the 1970s when I left the nest. There are 48 photos that were uploaded to http://picasaweb.google.com/Bigtownman/20090720RegoPark2009
I will upload these photos to Facebook, but I suggest my Facebook friends go to this web site since the photos have captions and annotations.

40 Years Ago Today

It was 40 years ago today that Apollo 11 landed on the moon. It is a shame that after the Apollo program concluded in 1972 that there were no further moon landings. Perhaps the reasons were budgetary or maybe politics had something to do with it. Hopefully in the years to come there will be a second generation of lunar exploration.

I think back to what I was doing on July 20, 1969. I was a student at the City College of New York taking summer classes in basic economics and sociology. They closed school on Monday July 21 to celebrate. Since classes were in the morning I worked at Alexanders Department Store in Rego Park from 2 PM - 6 PM. I was dating a girl named Elissa who lived in Eastern Queens.



Everyone's Gone to the Moon by Jonathan King was a hit in 1965. Radio stations did play it as an oldie in the summer of 1969.

Day Trip to Atlantic City

For the first time in 4 years we took a day trip to Atlantic City. We decided to wait until this year so that we could take Lee to the casinos since he has passed his 21st birthday. The bus came by at 8:30 and we arrived in Atlantic City at about noon. Security is very tight in the casinos. We had to show identification to get a card allowing us to gamble and to get a $25 voucher. While we were in the casino about 4 people walked up to Lee asking for ID since he does not look 21 years old. I did not like the new technologies for the slot machines. It was somewhat fun to insert a quarter and hear the quarter spew out of the machine after a win and place your money in a cup. Now winnings and loses are recorded on a computer card.

Of course, I took my Sony Walkman to listen on the bus. I was able to check out several radio stations along the Jersey shore. We got home about 10 PM. A disadvantage is that 7 out of the 13 hours are spent traveling from Queens to Atlantic City, but with the casino voucher, the trip is almost free. I never had much gambling spirit, so playing with the slot machines is like laying video games. I just lost the $25 from the voucher. We spent some time walking along the Boardwalk and bought some of the famous Atlantic City taffy.

Don't Worry Be Happy - The World Will Not Come to an End

Since Allan Sniffen wrote a memo calling for the demise of Saturday Night Oldies there has been a flurry of activity and speculation among the show’s most devoted listeners, some of whom read this journal.

Here are the facts:

The show has been rebranded as Saturday Night.
Mark Simone plays mostly 70s and 80s music
There has been more talk and less music.
The show has been cut from 4 hours to 3 hours
Some former diehards have stopped listening
The message board postings have declined.
The show is doing well in the ratings and the management is satisfied with the advertising dollars.

The major speculation is that the show is experiencing a slow death and will soon be taken off the air. Readers and listeners, please heed my call:

Change is inevitable
Nothing in this world is absolutely permanent

What will happen if Saturday Night Oldies is cancelled?

The world will not come to an end
Mark Simone will be on the Saturday morning show and will fill in when other WABC hosts are off
There will be other sources where we can hear oldies or classic hits.
The virtual community spawned by the message board will not die. We will have Meets and Greets

Big New York City Radio News

In a three way deal the New York Times is selling classical music radio station WQXR. A Spanish organization called Univision will be taking over the 96.3 FM frequency while the classical music will move to 105.9 FM now WCAA. WQXR will now be owned by WNYC. 96.3 FM has a much better signal so classical music enthusiasts in the suburbs may have a problem with reception on 105.9 FM.

Nothing in this world remains the same. It is no secret that the New York Times among many other newspapers is having financial problems and wanted to sell the station. Some years ago a former colleague interested in classical music told me that he didn't like hearing his music on the radio since with commercials they could only play short pieces. Commercial classical music stations have been accused of having tight playlists which make real enthusiasts of that genre unhappy.

This is similar to a situation in 1988 when NBC got out of the radio business. It sold WYNY at 97.1 on the dial which then moved to 103.5 while WQHT moved to 97.1. I remember on that day I had two tape decks going to record the switchovers.

Do I Really Need another Radio?

It was announced yesterday the availability of a personal stereo that can receive HD stations. I am tempted to buy it for $50. On one hand you can say for $50 this is a no brainer, but can also think that cheap is cheap. I have owned an Accurian HD radio for almost 3 years. I get reasonably good HD reception in Queens about 8 miles from the transmitter. My basic disappointment is that except for WFUV and the True Oldies Channel on 95.5 HD2, programming on HD2 stations has not been fully developed. They are still only music streams. Maybe I should wait until more portables are on the market.

Anyway, I am looking around my apartment and count 10 radios including my car radio. Do I really need another one?

Andrea - how many radios do you own?

Spotlight on Roger McGuinn

On his 67th birthday Roger certain disserves on of my spotlights. I have been following his career with the Byrds and as a solo artist since 1965. Roger was the anchor of the group after many personnel changes. After the group disbanded he has had a very successful solo career. Below is a solo version of Turn Turn Turn. If you search YouTobe, you will also find Roger being interviewed by David Letterman.

Doo Wop at Flushing Town Hall This Afternoon

Over the past year we have gone to several events at Flushing Town Hall right in the neighborhood. Last summer there were several free concerts on Friday night, but this year they have moved it to Sunday afternoon. Today there was a Doo Wop concert by Warren Tesoro and the Exceptions. They covered many hits from the late 50s and early 60s.

Mets beat Reds 4-0 last night

Johann Santana, Pedro Feliciano, and Francisco Rodriguez combined to shut out the Cincinati Reds 4-0 at Citifield. New Met Jeff Francoeur drove in two runs for the Mets in the first inning. The hitting was not overpowering but enough to win as the Mets raised their record to 41-45. There is still plenty of time left and hopefully the injured players will return to make the Mets competitive in the weak National League East.

Box Score

Good Luck John Choe and John Liu

Yesterday the family went to a birthday party for John Choe (lower photo) a community activist who is running for City Council in our district in Queens. He has been active for a number of years in the Mitchell-Linden Civic Association in our neighborhood. He is running a grass roots campaign for office. He has worked very hard for his neighbors.

John Liu (upper photo) is the current councilman for our district and is now running for City Comptroller. He has done a good job and disserves to advance to a higher position in government.

There will be a primary on September 15 for both of them to gain the Democratic party nomination for their respective offices. The general election is in November.

Some Comments on Reconnecting with People from the Past

Since I have been on the internet in the mid 1990s, I have reconnected with several people from my past. It has been easier to find old "friends" through Facebook and make "friends" with them again. Some comments:

• I have avoided contacting people who were close friends years ago. I am thinking of two people from my CCNY days. I found their e-mail addresses, but never contacted them.
• I never reconnected with any of the girls I dated. I did find two of them on Facebook
• Most of my reconnections were with casual acquaintances back then.
• Most of my reconnections were very brief. I exchanged a few e-mails and then the contact just died out. I can think of one person from high school (he may still read this journal) with whom I reconnected online and have maintained contact for several years.
• I have been friends with Roy for 42 years since we graduated from high school. He is on e-mail, but almost all of my contact with him has been through the telephone.

Fire on the Throgs Neck Bridge Snarls Traffic in Queens Today

As I ate my breakfast this morning I heard on the radio news reports that a fire overnight on the Throgs Neck Bridge necessitated its closing. Details.

When I am off work on Fridays I like to go to a park walk around and read. When I left my house at about 10 AM I noticed the traffic was heavy on the Whitestone Expressway since it had to be used as alternative to Throgs Neck Bridge. I decided to use side streets to Chrocheron Park. When I got there I walked along the Cross Island Parkway which was jammed until I reached Fort Totten where I could see the Throgs Neck Bridge. I actually saw a section of it that was charred from the fire.

At 4 PM I heard that the bridge was open Queens bound, but closed Bronx bound. Thankfully I was not stuck in the traffic.

Analyzing My Facebook Friends

I believe that it was about 3 years ago when I got started with Facebook. I attended a librarians conference at Princeton University when Shannon Kealey (a Facebook friend) gave a talk on how it can be used as an outreach tool for students. A short time later I tried to make friends with many NJIT students to promote the library. It didn't work well in that area, but it succeeded in reinforcing acquaintances that I already had. In order to raise my number of friends I contacted several people with the surname Slutsky. Most of them made friends with me even though I was not related to any of them. In 3 years I have made 438 friends. There is no point in trying to attain a big list. It is really the quality that counts. Anyway I thought I would make a statistical analyis of my Facebook friends. Hmm... maybe I should try to publish a paper on this. Nah! Here goes:

New York Librarians - 37 8.4%
New Jersey Librarians - 23 5.3 %
NJIT Colleagues - 48 11.0%
American Chemical Society Colleagues - 30 6.8%
Other Librarians - 21 4.8%
Radio enthusiasts - 99 22.6%
Family - 9 2.0%
NJIT Students - 110 25.1%
People from my past - 14 3.2%
Other Slutskys 13 0.2%
Bob Dylan Enthusiasts 1 0.2%
Others - 31 7.1%


Anyway, I really should "de-friend" many of the NJIT students whom I don't know especially if they have graduated. I should get on some Bob Dylan Facebook groups and make friends there.

Check out this video interview of Cousin Bruce

http://www.babyboomers.tv/content/cousin-brucie

I am not interviewing him :)

When the Media Exaggerates the News

It is certainly very sad when a major entertainer passes away at a young age. I will certain not repeat here what has been said in the media about Michael Jackson or the circumstances of his untimely death. No entertainer has universal appeal. No person whether a celebrity or an "ordinary joe" has a pristine life story.

I must object to the extraordinary media coverage given today as the Michael Jackson funeral is in progress as I am writing this entry on my lunch hour. All of the major broadcast and cable tv outlets are covering his memorial service at the Staples Center in LA. I remember in November 1963 when the entire world stopped to watch the funeral of John F. Kennedy. The death of a popular yet controversial entertainer can not be equated. I just don't feel his funeral deserves this unversal media coverage.

I am especially disappointed that a local outlet New York 1 has chosen to cover the ceremony. I have always enjoyed their news coverage since they always emphasized New York City news that was meaningful. I even sent them an e-mail criticizing them for their coverage of this event. I doubt if they will respond.

Does the media report or create the news?

Thinking Ahead to Retirement

Today I was sitting on a park bench in Alley Pond Park reading the business section of yesterday's New York Times. An article titled How to Make the Best of a Delayed Retirement hit close to home. Since I hit my 60th birthday this year, there have been more thoughts of retirement. Hopefully, I will only have 8 years to go when I will have completed 25 years at NJIT. I am envious of some friends who have already retired. It is nice to be able to go to a park bench and read or listen to the radio as I did today since NJIT gave us today off for the 4th of July. After a while this can get boring. The article discussed the fact that not everybody retires abruptly, they can ease into retirement by working part time for a while at their last employer. If I did that I would like to do something different. I would really want to put an end to the mundane questions that I have answered for years. There is always that great fear of not having enough money for retirement. Some of my investments in TIAA-CREF and other funds have gone down during this economic downturn. Hopefully in 8 years they will rebound.

The Wiz at New York City Center

It's nice to do something different so we saw The Wiz at the New York City Center last night. Ashanti played Dorothy in this encore of a show that debuted on Broadway in January 1975. Last night's performance was the last in this run that began on June 12. Some of the other performers were Coleman Domingo, LaChanze, and Joshua Henry. We enjoyed the acting, singing, and costumes. There was a movie version of the Wiz released in 1978 starring Diana Ross as Dorothy and the late Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow.

Why a regular caller from WFAN disappeared

I have certainly posted many times in this journal about music radio, but I think this is the first time I have written about a talk radio station. WFAN became the nation's first all sportstalk radio station on July 1, 1987 at 1050 on the AM dial. About a year later it moved to 660 AM. I listen to the sports talk programming very irregularly. This morning while I was in my Twitter account I did a search for WFAN and found reference to this article in the New York Times. Political and talk radio shows do have their regular callers. When a caller is no longer heard, people think of the worst. A few years ago when regular caller Doris from Rego Park passed away many WFAN listeners went to her funeral. This gentleman named Al called regularly at about 4 AM. He was elderly and could no longer live at home and moved in with his daughter who forbade him from calling since it would wake her up. :)

Queens Museum of Art Revisited Today

One advantage of having a journal is to find out when I last visited an attraction. On March 29, 2008 I last visited the Queens Museum of Art in nearby Flushing Meadows Park. All museums have permanent and temporary exhibits so one should never visit a museum too often or he/she will see the same attractions. I always like to see the Panorama of New York City which has been there since the 1964 New York World's Fair. There were displays of collectables from the Worlds Fairs of 1939 and 1964 which we've seen before.

A few of the temporary exhibits were:

• Red Lines Housing Crisis Learning Center, a large-scale installation of models, drawings, photographs, and videos by artist-designer Damon Rich
• Tarjama Translation - an exhibition featuring artists from the Middle East, Central Asia and its diasporas

I guess since today was a holiday, the museum was not crowded. For a $5 admission fee, how could we go wrong?

The Hangover

I haven't reported on movies that I have seen recently, but we walked over to the local multiplex and saw The Hangover. It was silly and far fetched, but it was funny and suitable for adults. I think they used the "F" word a little bit too much, but it was an R rated movie. The multiplex was crowded likely because of the opening of Ice Age,

Facebook and the AARP

I have written about Facebook several times in this journal. You just need to go to the search box at the top and search on "facebook" to read my earlier comments. I would like to comment on an article in the AARP Magazine titled Confessions of a Facebook Addict. AARP is open to those over 50 whether they are retired or not. Believe me when my favorite bald man starts making the rounds, I wish I were retired.

Anyway, Hugh Delehanty the author of this article,who is about my age talks about his experiences with Facebook. He says baby boomers are the web site's fastest growing demographic. He says that the "friending" thing was what got him hooked on Facebook. I first got invloved with it just after I attended a library seminar demonstrating how it could be an outreach tool to students. So I tried to friend as many NJIT students as I could. Since Slutsky is not a common surname I tried to befriend other Slutsky's even though there is no relation.

I have 436 friends, but I am not even acquainted with many of them. If a complete stranger makes a friend request, I will likely return the favor unless I am in a rotten mood that day. My friends fall into the following categories:

• NJIT Students
• NJIT Faculty and Staff
• Family (blood relatives)
• Radio Friends
• Radio Personalities
• Librarians and Information Professionals (non-NJIT)
• People from my past - PS 139, JHS 190, Forest Hills HS, City College
• Strangers - some have read my journal

I try to limit my time on Facebook, so I am don't consider myself an addict. There are certainly other social networking sites which I must avoid since there is only so much time in a day.

Moving On and Letting Go

I found this web site by Karim Hajee, author and creator of the Creating Power system. I think one of my problems is that I remember too many things, both positive and negative. I just have to get rid of some of that baggage. To quote Barbra Streisand:

Whats too painful to remember
We simply choose to forget

I can't do that. I remember the good and the bad