Open, Open Wide, Chin Down

This is not me!!!!

Nobody likes going to a dentist, but the alternative is risking losing your teeth.  When I visited my regular dentist a few months ago she suggested that I visit a periodontist which a a dentist specializing in gums. From what I understand most loss of teeth is caused by gum problems, not by tooth decay.  She referred my to Dr. Prabha Krishnan of Forest Hills.  Her web site is http://www.yourgumspecialist.com/.

Today she did surgery on the lower right part of my mouth.  It is so difficult to keep your mouth open for such a long period of time.  It was also necessary to keep my chin down during this procedure so she could work properly.  Umpteen times during the procedure, she said "Open, Open Wide, Chin Down".  It took about an hour to complete this procedure.

I am not in any way finished.  I have two more procedures to go on the left side of my mouth. She also said that I will have to return every 3 months for a cleaning.  Well, I don't want to lose my teeth.

Bob Dylan at Jones Beach July 27, 2013

For most Dylan concerts there is only one opening act.  In the past we have seen him with:

• Leon Russell
• Paul Simon
• Ani DiFranco
• Dion
• Santana

 This leg of the Never Ending Tour has been marketed as the Americanarama Festival of Music.  Last night's concert included:

• Ryan Bingham
• Beck
• Wilco

The ticket stated the concert started at 5:30, but we arrived at about 6:00 and missed Ryan Bingham.  I am not too familiar with Beck or Wilco although I have one CD of the latter.  It was a surprise to hear Sean Lennon join Wilco at the end of their set singing Yer Blues and Tomorrow Never Knows.  The former includes the line "I feel so suicidal like Dylan's Mr. Jones."  Dylan did that song as his encore.

At age 72 Dylan's voice is pretty much shot, but he did not mumble or slur his words as was done sometimes in the past.  On this leg of the tour he did not vary his set list much.  I must give great credit to his backup band which was superb:

• Tony Garnier - bass
• George Recile - drums
• Stu Kimball - rhythm guitar
• Charlie Sexton - lead guitar
• Donnie Herron - banjo, electric mandolin, pedal steel, lap steel

When I arrived home about 12:15 the set list was already posted on Bill Pagel's Boblinks site.

Wantagh, New York Nikon at Jones Beach TheaterJuly 27, 2013

1.	Things Have Changed (Bob center stage, Donnie on pedal steel, Stu on acoustic guitar, Charlie Sexton on lead guitar)
2.	Love Sick (Bob center stage with harp, Donnie on electric mandolin, Charlie Sexton on lead guitar)
3.	High Water (For Charley Patton) (Bob center stage, Donnie on banjo, Tony on standup bass, Charlie Sexton on lead guitar)
4.	Soon After Midnight (Bob on grand piano, Donnie on pedal steel, Stu on acoustic guitar, Charlie Sexton lead guitar)
5.	Early Roman Kings (Bob on grand piano, Donnie on lap steel , Stu on acoustic guitar, Tony on standup bass, Charlie Sexton on lead guitar)
6.	Tangled Up In Blue (Bob on grand piano, Donnie on pedal steel, Stu on acoustic guitar, Charlie Sexton on lead guitar)
7.	Duquesne Whistle (Bob on grand piano, Donnie on lap steel, Tony on standup bass, Charlie Sexton on lead guitar)
8.	She Belongs To Me (Bob center stage with harp, Donnie on pedal steel, Charlie Sexton on lead guitar)
9.	Beyond Here Lies Nothin' (Bob on grand piano, Donnie on electric mandolin, Stu on acoustic guitar, Charlie Sexton on lead guitar)
10.	A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (Bob on grand piano, Donnie on electric mandolin, Stu on acoustic guitar, Tony on standup bass, Charlie Sexton on lead guitar)
11.	Blind Willie McTell (Bob center stage with harp, Donnie on banjo, Stu on acoustic guitar, Tony on standup bass, Charlie Sexton on lead guitar)
12.	Simple Twist Of Fate (Bob on grand piano with harp, Donnie on pedal steel, Stu on acoustic guitar, Charlie Sexton on lead guitar)
13.	Summer Days (Bob on grand piano, Donnie on pedal steel, Tony on standup bass, Charlie Sexton on lead guitar)
14.	All Along the Watchtower (Bob on grand piano, Donnie on lap steel, Stu on acoustic guitar, Charlie Sexton on lead guitar)
	(encore)
15.	Ballad Of A Thin Man (Bob on grand piano with harp, Donnie on lap steel, Charlie Sexton on lead guitar)

The Jeopardy Season Ended Tonight

Alex Trebek announced tonight that the Jeopardy season has ended and that reruns of tournaments will be aired for the next 7 weeks.  I can certainly use a breather from my favorite TV show.  I will now answer my phone from 7:00 PM - 7:30 PM on weeknights until Monday September 9.

Newark Bears Defeat New Jersey Jackals 7-6 in a Walk Off

Today the NJIT Library staff made its yearly trip to Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium to see the locals play.  This year Charlie, Galen, and Aron joined me to see the locals play.  In the middle of the 8th the Jackals had a 6-2 lead but the Bears scored two runs in the 8th and 3 in the 9th to win 7-6 in a walk off with Manny Mayorson getting the game winning hit.  It was fun getting away from the office.

The Bears congratulate themselves

after their victory.

Game Summary

Let's Help Rich Appel Return to WRNJ - Hackettstown

Rich Appel with Harry Harrison

I was quite dismayed yesterday when I found out that Rich Appel's "The Rest of the Week" was taken off the air at WRNJ - Hackettstown.  It certainly can not hurt for his fans to write to the station manager, Norman Worth at nworth@wrnj.com.  Please be polite.  This is what I wrote:

Mr. Worth:

I am very disappointed that Rich Appel's weekend shows were taken off WRNJ.  Rich was certainly an asset to your station during the time that he worked there.  His knowledge of the music and artists encouraged me to listen to the station longer than I had in the past.  I felt that his banter with the local merchants helped to retain sponsors.

I ask that you rehire Rich for his weekend shifts.

Respectfully submitted

Bruce Slutsky

One of My Favorite Photos

Using the new Facebook feature "Graph Search" I searched under "Photos that I Liked" and found this gem. It is a photo of Dan Ingram and Cousin Brucie at the June 2007 WABC Cruise taken by Mary Shaw.

Happy Recap Mets 5 Phillies 4

Saturday afternoon at Citifield was not the same without Alan Berman, but he was with us in spirit on a very hot day.  There were almost as many Phillies fans in the stands as Philadelphia is only about 90 miles south of NYC.  Zack Wheeler was the starting pitcher for the Mets, but ran into trouble in the 5th inning and was taken out so he could not be the winning pitcher.  The bullpen did well holding on to a 5-2 into the 9th inning.  With 2 outs in the 9th Matt Young was safe on an error by Josh Satin.  Chase Utley followed with a 2 run home run to close to gap to one run.  Dominic Brown double to put the tying run on 2nd base.  Bobby Parnell finally got Darin Ruf to line out to Daniel Murphy for the final out.

Game recap

I am Glad We Bought an Air Conditioner

About two weeks ago I wrote a journal entry  predicting that it would be a cool summer since I bought an air conditioner.  I was wrong.  This must be the 5th day of 90 plus degree weather.  It is really nice to sleep under a blanket.  Hopefully, it will cool off soon.

Another Self Portrait to Be Released on August 27th

The release of Bob Dylan's The Bootleg Series Volume 10 has been rumored for some time, but the following announcements make it official:

• New York Times Art Beat
• Rolling Stone Magazine  - the play lists for the 2 CDs are given here

There will be plenty of outtakes and alternative versions will be offered.  Rock critic Greil Marcus really panned the original Self Portrait originally released in 1970.

I don't think there will be a "pop up" store for this release, so I guess I'll order my copy from Amazon.com

All Star Fan Fest at the Javits Center

Since I bought a 6 pack of tickets the Mets sent me free tickets to the All Star Fan Fest at the Javits Center.  I met Karen and Lee there after work.  There were plenty of fun and games for the kids and memorabilia for sale.  We bought two t-shirts and a model of the home run apple with an All Star logo.  We met Matt Thornton now owns the Jay Buckley Baseball Tours.  I related some of out experiences on the tours we took in 2006, 2007 and 2010.

Michael Kay was doing his ESPN radio talk show from the fan fest.  After the show he met with some fans.  Below is a photo of him with yours truly and Lee.

Atlanta Vacation - Turner Field and the Braves

For several years our vacations are in cities with major league baseball teams.  In 2006, 2007, and 2010 we went on Jay Buckley Baseball Tours which we thoroughly enjoyed and have been documented in this journal.  On other occasions including this year we decided to visit just one city and see one or more games and spend some time touring the city.  This year we picked a hotel that was within walking distance of Tuner Field.  Last year our hotel was two blocks away from Orioles Park at Camden Yards.

On Thursday night we saw the Atlanta Braves play the Cincinnati Reds.  The Braves won 6-5 as we also got a Dale Murphy bobblehead doll.  Freddy Freeman celebrated has election to the All Star Game as he drove in 4 runs.

Game Recap

On Friday morning we took a guided tour of Turner Field which started in the Braves Hall of Fame.  It included artifacts from the Braves in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta.  The team won one world series in each city in 1948, 1958, and 1995.  For so many years the Atlanta Braves dominated the National League East, but only won the series in 1995.  The tour guide showed us the broadcast booth, luxury boxes and the home team dugout.

At night we saw the second game of the series as the Reds beat the Braves 4-2 followed by a fireworks display.

Game Recap

The Atlanta Fulton County Stadium where the Braves played from 1966-1996 is now part of the parking lot of Turner Field.  The was a sign where Hank Aaron hit is 715th home run

Atlanta Vacation - Part 4

On Thursday  we traveled to the Atlanta History Center.  I was impressed by the Centennial Games Museum.  There were multimedia presentations and interactive displays which showed how Atlanta won the games and how the events transpired in July 1996.

Another exhibit Turning Point: The American Civil War offered over 1400 original and confederate artifices detailing the history of that conflict that resulted in 670,000 deaths.

We also saw the Swan House built in 1928 by distinguished Atlanta architect Philip Trammell Shutze for Edward and Emily Inman.

Atlanta Vacation - Part 3

Back in the 1990s whenever I traveled to a new city I would always air check the major radio stations.  I stopped doing that for various reasons.  In this internet era I can listen to radio stations from all over the world so I can listen to an Atlanta radio station any time.  On Wednesday morning I took out may AM-FM Walkman (remember those?) and scanned the radio dials.  There were several sports talk stations but no oldies or classic hits stations.

After 9 AM we hopped on the MARTA and traveled to the High Museum of Art.  I am not an expert in art but there were several exhibits featuring American and European art from the 14th century to the present.

From there we went to the Margaret Mitchell House, the birthplace of the author of Gone with the Wind.  The tour guide gave a detailed biography of Ms. Mitchell.  She was quite knowledgeable about the famous novel.  There was also a small exhibit devoted to the movie version.  The tour guide was emphatic that the book was better.

The third stop of theday was the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Visitor Center and Monetary Museum.

Our last stop of the day was the Hard Rock Café.  Whenever we try to go to the one in Times Square, we go away since we don’t want to wait for 90 minutes.  In Atlanta we were served right away.

Atlanta Trip - Part 2

On Tuesday July 9th, our first full day in Atlanta we visited the Georgia Aquarium which is in the same vicinity as CNN and the World of Coca Cola.  Now this is three vacations in a row that we have visited aquariums:

• 2011 - Long Beach California
• 2012 - Baltimore
• 2013 -  Atlanta

In all cases the attractions were more for small children.

From there we took the MARTA to the Martin Luther King Jr.  National Historical Site.  Our first stop was the house where Dr, King was born in 1929.  From there we went to Freedom Hall which featured exhibits about Dr. King and his role in the civil rights movement.  There was a reflecting pool which surrounds the tombs of Dr. and Mrs. King.

Atlanta Vacation - Part 1

Bruce’s Journal was on hiatus for the week the family was away on vacation in Atlanta.  A few years ago I was advised not to report on the open web that I was on vacation since  someone could look up my address and rob my apartment while I was away.  So there will be several entries describing this vacation.

It is always good to take an early flight when leaving on vacation so you have most of a day to pursue activites at your destination.  Our flight left LaGuardia at 8:40 AM and we were settled at our hotel by 11:30 AM.  So by noon we were ready to start to explore the city.  Our hotel was within walking distance of the Georgia State stop on the MARTA, the light rail system of Atlanta.  We took the train to the CNN Center where we got  a tour of the facility.  We were shown the newsrooms of CNN and HLN.

From there we walked to the World of Coca-Cola, a museum devoted to the famous soft drink.  There were many artifacts dating back to the founding of the company in 1886.  We saw the vault where the secret formula of Coca Cola is kept.  I enjoyed the feature were visitors could sample the many soft drinks sold by the company all over the world.  At the end of the tour we were given and 8 once bottle of Coke.

Congratulations to Dave Wright and Matt Harvey

Congratulations to David Wright and Matt Harvey for their selection to the 2013 National League All-Star Team.  Congratulations are also in order for Robinson Cano and Mariano Rivera for their selection to the American League team.

We Didn't Stay till the end as the Mets Lose to Arizona 5-4 in 15 innings

For many years we have bought tickets to Met games in advance.  We have observed that there are plenty of empty seats at Citifield.  So yesterday we decided to go the ball bark and buy the tickets at the window as we did for many years at Shea Stadium.  We took a little walk around the ball park and saw Mr. Met with his wife at the Fan Fest.  After all these years I didn't know that he was married.

We went to our seats in the Promenade behind home plate.  Sadly Alan Berman was not there as he regularly goes to day games at Citifield and Yankee Stadium.  It was a typical Met game with excellent pitching, but no clutch hitting.  It was still tied at 2-2 after 12 innings as I said to Karen that we were all tired and hungry and would leave at the end of the 13th inning no matter what.

In the 13th inning Cody Ross drew a bases load walk from David Aardsma to take the lead.  But, in the bottom of the 13th Anthony Recker homered off ex-Met Heath Bell to tie game.  We left at that point, but Alan Berman, may he rest in peace, would have stayed to the bitter end as he did in the 20 inning loss to the Miami Marlins on June 8.

In the top of the 14th Arizona scored on a bloop single, but the Mets tied it up with a home run by Kirk Nieuwenhuis.

Arizona rallied to score a run in the 15th, but there was no Met magic in the bottom of the inning as the Amazins lost 5-4 in a 5 hour and 46 minute marathon.

Game Recap

Why This Will Be a Cool Summer

Every time you remember to bring an umbrella, like today, it doesn't rain.  Today we had a new air conditioner for our bedroom delivered.  It will be installed tomorrow.  So of course, it means this will be a cool summer.