Bob Dylan's Never Ending Tour Resumes in Japan

After a 4 month hiatus Bob Dylan's Never Ending Tour resumed today in Tokyo.  Here is the set list from Bill Pagel's Boblinks page.

Tokyo, Japan Zepp DiverCityMarch 31, 2014

1.	Things Have Changed
2.	She Belongs To Me
3.	Beyond Here Lies Nothin'
4.	What Good Am I?
5.	Blind Willie McTell
6.	Duquesne Whistle
7.	Pay In Blood
8.	Tangled Up In Blue
9.	Love Sick
	(Intermission)
10.	High Water (For Charley Patton)
11.	Simple Twist Of Fate
12.	Early Roman Kings
13.	Forgetful Heart
14.	Spirit On The Water
15.	Scarlet Town
16.	Soon After Midnight
17.	Long And Wasted Years
	(encore)
18.	All Along The Watchtower
19.	Blowin' In The Wind

Nationals 9 Mets 7 in 10 Innings on Opening Day at Citifield

I was at work today and not at Citifield.  Our first game will be on Saturday afternoon.  There was a full house at Citifield that left disappointed as the Amazins lost the home opener 9-7 to the Washington Nationals.  Andrew Brown hit a 3 run home run to give the Mets an early lead, but the pitching couldn't hold it.  They were ahead 5-4 in the 9th, but Bobby Parnell blew the save.  Anthony Rendon hit a home run in the 10th to give the Nationals a 9-5 lead.  In the bottom of the inning David Wright a 2 run home for the Mets, but it was not enough.

Game recap

Mets vs Toronto Blue Jays in the last Preseason Game

It was a rainy day as we decided to stay home and watch the Mets last preseason game.  It was part of a two game series of the Mets vs Toronto Blue Jays at Olympic Stadium in Montreal.  Last night's game was a tribute to the late Gary Carter who played for the Expos and Mets.  Today's game was a tribute to the 1994 Expos who had the best record in baseball when the baseball strike ended the season.  It did seem that the Expos never recovered from that strike as attendance dwindled and the team moved to Washington, DC in 2005.  Another problem was that the stadium was so big that the seats were so far away from the field.  The Blue Jays announcers stated that there were plans to build a new stadium for the Expos, but they fell through after the strike.

In today's game the Mets lost to the Blue Jays 2-0 on a two run homer by Melky Cabrera in the 8th inning.  The Mets struck out 11 times and could only get two hits off Blue Jay pitching.  There were about 50,000 fans at the game today showing that there is interest in baseball in Montreal.  I attended the last Expo game at Shea Stadium in 2004 where there was a large contingent of Expo fan protesting the move of their team.  If baseball expands in the future, could Montreal get a new team?  They didn't support the Expos during their last 10 seasons, but they came out for these two preseason games.

Happy Birthday Mr. Lee

It is hard to believe that Mr. Lee is now 26 years old.  In this recent photo you can see that he now taller than his father.  As I am 39 years older than him, I always think back to where I was and what I was doing when I was his age.  When I was 26 I was working as a chemist for Rhodia in New Brunswick, NJ.  I was living by myself at the Colony House at George Street and the Landing Lane Bridge.  Below is his favorite oldie Mr. Lee by the Bobbettes.

Thinking about Family Feud

Family Feud has to be Lee's favorite game show as he watches it every day from 5 to 6 PM on Channel 9. Shows from previous seasons appear several times a week on the Game Show Network.  The show does have a history.  I remember watching it for the first time in July 1976 when I lived in New Brunswick, NJ.  Richard Dawson was the host at the beginning and stayed for many years.  The Wikipedia reports that the show has been on the air for 31 non-consecutive years with several hosts:

• Richard Dawson
• Ray Combs
• Louie Anderson
• Richard Karn
• John O'Hurley
• Steve Harvey

You can't argue with success as the show has been on s many years.  Some of the questions are thought provoking while others are just silly.  At times the various hosts have dominated the show too much.  Richard Dawson's kissing the female contestants was also silly at times.

I play the online version a few times a week on Facebook.

Six Full Bob Dylan Concerts on Youtube

I hope there are some big Dylan fans reading my journal.  This link to 6 full concerts was posted in several Dylan groups on Facebook today.  Somehow I will have to find the time to listen to at least some of them,  Here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3RG2gU_hS62zK97UYKLsJR-AXkyplyNG

Only the audio of these concerts are on Youtube.  Since they are bootlegs, the quality is not the greatest.

Random Thoughts of the Day

My output on Bruce's Journal has declined.  I guess it is getting more difficult to write original posts after keeping this journal for for 8 1/2 years.  I don't like to let more than 2 days go by without posting.  It is frustrating not know who my regular readers are after viewing the statistics on Google Analytics.  I have two other journals which now average only one post a month.

Commuting journal  - I started this journal about a year ago to learn how to use the Wordpress software as I used to use Bruce's Journal to vent when I had significant travel delays.  I have my right to criticize various transportation agencies.

Librarian journal - I have to be careful not to be critical of professional situations.

There have been 8 consecutive one time winners on Jeopardy after Arthur Chu won 11 straight games.

Back in the mid 1960s there was a song Cheryl's Going Home on the album Projections by the Blues Project sometimes known as the Jewish Beatles.  The songwriter was listed as Bob Lind.  For the first time today I heard Bob's version on Sounds of the 60s.  It was the B side of his his hit Elusive Butterfly.

Novelty Song of the Day - Troglodytes by Jimmy Castor

I remember this was a hit when I was a student at the University of Rhode Island in the early 1970s.  It does have a sub-title: Bertha Butts Boogie.  Last night the theme on Bob Radil's 60s 70s show was Girl's name songs.  Some one requested Bertha Butts Boogie; I turned off my computer at 9:58, but Bob played it at 9:59.

I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman - Instrumental Oldie of the Day

I just heard I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman on SiriusXM 60s on 6.  I first time I heard it was back in 1966 on WOR-FM while the late Jim Lounsbury was the DJ.

Can Phil Jackson Lead the Knicks to a Championship?

Today the Knicks announced Phil Jackson as the new president of the team .  Right now they have won 6 in a row but have a 27-40 record with 15 games to go in the regular season.  Even if they get into the playoffs with a low seed, they would play Miami or Indiana in the first round and would likely be eliminated early.  Phil Jackson has proven himself as a winner by being a champion 13 times as a player and a coach.  However, he has never served as a team executive and must prove himself in that role.  I think the Knicks problem is that they rely too much on Carmelo Anthony for scoring.  It is possible that they gave up too much for Carmelo as Denver gets their first round draft pick this year.  We'll have to wait and see.

Lost Oldie of the Day - Boogie Child by the Bee Gees

For some reason this "lost hit" has generated some discussion on Facebook.  It is nothing to get excited about IMHO.

Meet Din Garcia - Dr. Tweet

The gentleman in the photo above is Din Garcia who has come a long way since he left the NJIT Library.  He is a medical student at the New Jersey Medical School of Rutgers University formerly known as UMDNJ.  He occasionally answers my Tweets which must be 140 characters or less.  However, whenever I send him an e-mail, he never responds.  I wonder of he communicates to his patients in 140 characters or less.

I found out from looking at http://njms.rutgers.edu/education/hcoe/lmsa/contact.cfm   that he is active in the Latino Medical Student Association.  I hopes he contacts me so I can find out in detail how he is doing.

Mrs. Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel - Oldie of the Day

What do I have in common with Simon and Garfunkel?  We all attended Forest Hills High School.  Paul and Art graduated in 1958 while I did in 1967.

Arthur Chu Lost on Jeopardy

After 11 victories and almost $300,000 Arthur Chu lost on Jeopardy.  He became the third biggest money winner in regular play in the history of the show.  He gained some notoriety among regular viewers of the show in his unorthodox style of jumping from one category to another.  He certainly did break any rules and won each game fair and square.  When I play the online version, I like to start at the easy question in the category and work down tp the more difficult.  Arthur will be a formidable player when he returns in the next tournament of champions. I congratulate him on his achievement.

NASH-FM has a new regular listener

When I come home from work at about 6 PM seen above with his Johnny Cash t-shirt has control of the CD Player.  For the last two days he has surprised us and asked to hear NASH-FM on the radio.  He will likely not hear his buddy Johnny Cash or any other classic country artists, but he seems to like the station.  Maybe he will get a PPM meter.  Since he is 25 years old, he is in that highly desirable demographic.

The Greatest Concert Ever

I remember October 16, 1992 as the date of the tribute concert to Bob Dylan for his 30th anniversary in the music business.  Many artists paid tribute to him by singing his songs.  The highhlight was My Back Pages done by the "Mount Rushmore of Rock n Roll", a metaphor created by the late Pete Fornatale.  That song was performed by Dylan, Tom Petty, George Harrison, Roger McGuinn, and Eric Clapton.  I just received the deluxe DVD of the concert and played it over the weekend.  I didn't have time to watch the bonus features.  As far as I am concerned this is the "Greatest Concert Ever" as it featured both Dylan and covers of his songs.

Today's Radio Log

I haven't done one of these for a while, so here goes:

1010 WINS
WCBS-FM with Sue O'Neill - a music intensive morning show for the weekends
WOGL - Philadelphia - American Top 40 with Casey Kasem - Countdown of March 8, 1983
WBGO- Rhythm Revue with Felix Hernandez
Pop Gold Radio - Don Tandler's countdown of March 8, 1963
Cousin Brucie on Sirius XM 60s on 6

A couple of notes:
It is very unusual for me to listen to two countdowns in one day.
I usually catch Don McGee's Mixed Bag show in the afternoon but there was a Fordham baskeball game on WFUV

Rock n Roll Part 2 - Gary Glitter Instrumental of the Day

I requested this on Bob Radil's 60s 70s show tonight.  I think he'll play it before the show ends.  Lee calls it the "Hockey Song" as it is often played before the beginning of a period what the players are loosening up before play resumes.

The Family is Moving from WCBS-FM to WFUV in the Morning

For many years the family gets up at 6:10 AM and listened to WCBS-FM until I leave at 6:40.  Lee then turns on the TV until he leaves at 7:30 when Karen turned on the radio for WCBS-FM until she leaves at 8:45.  When I arrive at work I switch off between WFUV and WBGO.  If I am home in the morning I would listen to WFUV from 6:40 - 7:20 (give or take a few minutes), WBGO until 8:00 and then SiriusXM 50s on 5 until about 8:30 when I turn off all radios.

From 1978 to 1984 I listened to WYNY in the morning when it was an Adult Contemporary Station at 97.1 FM on the dial.  Bruce Bradley and then Dan Daniel did the morning drive show.  It was an insult when in 1984 they dropped Dan who is a legend in NYC radio for a couple of clowns named Harris and Harris.  I turned them off after 10 minutes and tuned in to WCBS-FM where I listened to Harry Harrison until he retired in 2003.  After that I listened to Dan Taylor, Mike Fitzgerald and Micky Dolenz until the JACK fiasco in June 2005.

From June 2005 until July 2007 we listened to WFUV in the morning as Claudia Marshall did the morning show.  Everyone was ecstatic when WCBS-FM returned in July 2007 playing the Greatest Hits of the 60s, 70s, and 80s while dropping the term "oldies".  Dan Taylor returned as the morning man.

In recent years I stayed with CBS-FM out of a sense of loyalty.  I was disappointed that they abandoned the 1955-63 and moved to a music mix that was not my cup of tea.  Just yesterday Scott Shannon took over mornings.  After two days we all felt that there was just too much talk on the show.  I prefer a music intensive show with just enough news, weather, and sports to know what is going on.  I have the utmost respect for Scott Shannon, but his show is not my cup of tea.

OK Corney O'Connell will be gaining two more listeners.  The good thing about WFUV is that there is a possibility that I will wake up hearing a Bob Dylan song.

First Impression of Scott Shannon on WCBS-FM

To be fair I never listened to Scott Shannon when he was on Z-100 or WPLJ.  This morning I listened to CBS-FM from 6:10 - 6:40 as usual.  On the train trip I tuned in from 7:55 - 8:05. So far I think there is too much talk and not enough music. WCBS-FM is a music intensive station. I understand this is the first day and that many phoned in to welcome him to the station. Let’s see what transpires over his first week at the station.

I personally like a music intensive show in morning drive with enough weather, sports, traffic and news so I know what is going on in the world when I wake up.  I don't care for a morning zoo approach where there is a lot chatter between several radio personalities.  I am willing to listen and make a judgement.  I do not have a lifetime contract to listen to WCBS-FM in the morning.  With the exception of the two Jack years I have listened to the station in the morning from 1984 to the present.  I would be disappointed if they adopted a show with mostly talk in AM Drive.  If so, I would turn to WFUV as I did during the two Jack years.  When I arrive at work I usually tune into WFUV or WBGO for a while.  Let's hear what happens.

Please go to https://vimeo.com/88099305  to hear Scott's first show on WCBS-FM.  I don't know who posted this.

We Saw Bronx Bombers Before It Closes

As I said in this journal before we originally were going to see this show on March 15, but exchanged our tickets for February 28th to see it before it closes on March 2.  It was actually two plays in one.  Act I take place in June 1977 in a hotel room just after there was a big fight in the dugout between Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson.  Yogi Berra who was a coach was the main character.  In Act II there is a dinner at Yogi Berra's house for the closing of Yankee Stadium.  Several Yankee stars from the past including Babe Ruth, Lou Gerhig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Elston Howard, and Derek Jeter were the guests of Carmen and Yogi.  I thought that there should have been a Yankee represented.  I thought it should be Whitey Ford.  The characters talked about George Steinbreener, but he was not in the play.

I enjoy this show, but it closed after a very short run.  It may be that baseball fans do not go to the theater and that theater enthusiasts are not interested in baseball..  Below is a photo of Lee standing next to a photo of Yogi Berra.