New Jersey Jackals 3 Rockland Boulders 2

For many years Galen, Aron and I would go to Riverfront Stadium in Newark to watch the Newark Bears.  Free tickets to their games were a minor benefit given to NJIT employees.  Over the winter we found out that the Bears had folded, thus we needed a new idea to continue our baseball tradition.  We decided to go to Montclair to see the New Jersey Jackals who belong to the Can-Am league which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball.

The game started at 11 AM to accommodate day campers.  It was close as the Jackals beat the Boulders 3-2.

Box Score

Checking Google Analytics Again

My three blogs are tracked using Google Analytics so that I can find out where people are accessing my various journals. Sometime I can figure out from the location who is reading Bruce's Journal.  For several months someone from Monroe Township, NJ was accessing thsi journal about 40 times a month.  Mysterious, this person is no longer following me.  On the other hand someone from Livingston, NJ is hitting me 26 times over the last 30 days.  I don't know anyone from either of these locations, but it is possible they know me from NJIT.

In any event, anybody is welcome to stop by here.

Funny Picture of Bob Dylan

I got this photo this from Scott Warmuth's Facebook page.  I hope he doesn't mind.  If so, I'll delete this journal entry.  Anyway, I was never an autograph fan.  I think that an authentic autograph of Bob Dylan would cost really big bucks.

Blue Jays 6 Yankees 4

It was our second and last trip of the season to Yankee Stadium.  The Bronx Bombers had beaten the Blue Jays 17 games in a row at the Stadium, but lost this one.  Despite home runs by Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran the Blue Jays won 6-4.  Dan Johnson's 70 foot single  put the Jays ahead 3-2 in the 7th inning.  He also hit a three-run homer in the 9th to make the score 6-2.  Beltran's two-run home in the 9th was too little too late.

Game recap

This is the last time we will see Derek Jeter in a game at the Stadium.  He was 2-4.

Please Help Get Pop Gold Radio Back on Internet

Don Tandler is certainly a friend of oldies radio.  For 3 years he has used his own money to start and maintain Pop Gold Radio which provides a wide range of hits rarely heard today on terrestrial radio.  It must be an expensive proposition since he must pay for his computer, bandwith, and the rights to play the songs.  He reports that his hard disk has crashed thus knocking the station off the internet.  He is asking his radio friends to help him to get the station back.  Please make a small donation at Go Fund Me.  Don will be most appreciative.

Your truly with Don at the Long Island Radio Expo in 2010

Hey Kemosabe by Chris Ingram

Dan Ingram at the WABC Cruise June 2007

There was talk on the various radio message boards that Chris Ingram, son of legendary Dan Ingram would publish a book about his father and Musicradio WABC.  I just purchased his book titled Hey Kemosabe from Amazon.com and read it last night and today.  I enjoyed reading it as it reminded me the radio career of Dan whom I met at the WABC cruise in June 2007.  To be completely honest I must report some very serious flaws.

The author states “This is not a biography nor is it a history book.  Many of the events contained on the following pages are recreations of actual events, drawn from the memories of the people who lived though them.  Others are fictions in which actual people are placed in imaginary situations during real historical events.”

This is the serious weakness of the book  The reader does not know whether an event is fact or fiction or whether an actual event is exaggerated.  The “brief showers” event with Dan and Cousin Brucie is accurately reported.  Also the events of the big NYC blackout November 9, 1965 is reported in detail as Dan traveled to the WABC transmitter in Lodi, NJ to continue his show.  There is a blatant inaccuracy when it is said that Martin Luther King was murdered in Montgomery, Alabama when everyone knows the tragedy occurred in Memphis.  I think the lack of chronological order of the events depicted  was  a great drawback of this book.

A story was related where Oswaldo Santiago was in a coma eleven days after being a victim of a mugging.  He seemed to show signs of improvement when listening to Dan Ingram on WABC.  After Dan mentioned his name on the air, the boy woke up.  Is this story fact or fiction?

I think the book should have included some photographs of Dan Ingram and the other WABC radio personalities of the music radio era.  The book ends with May 10, 1982, the “Day the Music Died” on WABC.  I think Chris should have included a chapter on his Dad’s post WABC career on WCBS-FM.  He did a popular weekend show on WCBS-FM from 1991-2003.

I realize that as I am posting this on my blog, anybody can read it including the author.  I am writing this to provide constructive criticism not to bash the book.

Happy Birthday Bill Dillane

A little bird told me that tomorrow Friday July 25th is the birthday of Bill Dillane.  Since he is not on Facebook, I can't wish him a happy birthday there.  He is very active on Twitter with the account @billinct.  Since all posts from Bruce's Journal are imported into Twitter, Bill will see it there.  Above he is twisting up a storem with Chubby Checker who belongs in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

Still by Bill Anderson - Country Crossover Hit of the Day

Last week when we were at the Grande Ole Opry I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing Bill Anderson who has been in the music version for over 50 years.  I also remember that he and Sarah Purcell hosted a game show called the Better Sex in 1977.  In 1963 Bill had a crossover hit called Still that peaked at #8 on the Billboard Pop Chart,  It was also played on WABC.  When you listen to the song read the lyrics very carefully and recall someone in your life who has gone away.  The song reminds me of someone I knew back in 1971.  I always wonder what became of her.

45 Years Ago Today

Of course, 45 years ago Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon.  I remember watching the landing on a black and white TV with my parents while living in Rego Park.  At that time I was taking 2 summer session classes at CCNY while working as a stock boy at Alexanders on Queens Blvd.

My Yearly Meeting With Mr. Met Changed Location

For the past two years the family has met Mr. Met at the Sly Fox Inn on Union Turnpike near St. John's University.  We found out that the restaurant closed after  many of years doing business.  We always read the local Queens newspapers and found out that he was appearing this afternoon at the Citibank branch on Main Street in downtown Flushing.

I told him that I was a fan since 1962 and actually attended a few Met games at the Polo Grounds.  I was optimistic about the rest of the season and thought that with a weak National League East there was a chance that the Amazins could make the playoffs/

Random Thoughts of the Day

We went over to the Paley Center today.  I was somewhat disappointed to see that there were only screening scheduled on weekends.  There was also no exhibit.  They must be having financial difficulties as so many features have been scaled back.

Alex Trebek announced that today's show was the last of the "regular season."  The Teen Tournament will take place for the next two weeks followed by reruns of the Tournament of the Decades.  Thus the new season will commence on September 8.

Bob Radil played my request for the Beatles version of Act Naturally tonight.

Back to work on Monday.

Act Naturally 4 Times

The Beatles

Ringo Starr

Buck Owens

Buck Owens and Ringo Starr

Nashville Trip Day 4 - Frist Center for the Performing Arts - The Grand Ole Opry

We decided to substitute art for music during the first half of our fourth and last day in Nashville.  When we visited the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in 2004 there was an excellent exhibit on the pop artist Red Grooms.  This year the main attraction was an exhibit on Animation.  There were videos tracing the history of animation from the early days in the 19th century until today.  Obviously the quality of animation has improved with the modern computer technology.  We saw Steamboat Willy, Felix the Cat, and Toy Story 3 among other videos.

There was a corridor with photographs by Marty Stuart who is best known as a country musician.  He even played with Johnny Cash.  Lastly there was an exhibit called Real/Surreal selections from the Whitney Museum of  American Art.  We attended a tour of this exhibit by a docent who was extremely enthusiastic about the artwork.  This particular exhibit covered works painted from 1929 through the 1950s.

Finally we attended the Grand Ole Opry which featured the following performers:

• Bill Anderson
• Dustin Lynch
• Craig Morgan
• Restless Heart
• Gwen Sebastian
• Jeannie Sealy

I especially enjoyed Country Hall of Famer Bill Anderson.  I remember his crossover hit Still from the early 1960s.  He didn’t sing it at this performance.

Nashville Trip Day 3 - Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum and Beck at the Ryman Auditorium

Before this Nashville trip I had never heard of the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.  It first opened in 2005 so it was not there when we came last time.  This museum honors all musicians regardless of genre or instrument. The MHOF timeline starts with the beginning of recorded music and inductees are nominated by current members of the American Federation of Musicians and by other music industry professionals.
They had many artifacts including guitars, records, and outfits worn by the performers.  There were exhibits on Motown and the Los Angeles sound among other musical niches.  I was impressed by a display of various devices tracing electronic devices from the Thomas Edison record player to the Ipod was several variations of record players, radios and tape players in the middle.

When we visited Nashville in 2004 we toured the Ryman Auditorium, but did not attend a concert there.  I found out in advance that Beck was appearing there during our visit.  I didn’t know much about him, but I really wanted to see a concert at this famous venue.  He is known for creating musical collages of a wide range of styles.  The concert started out with an acoustic set, but the music got louder and more rocking as the concert progressed.  He had many enthusiastic fans in the audience.

Nashville Vacation Day 2 - The Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Sounds Baseball

On  Day 2 we started out bright and early at the Country Music Hall of Fame which was right across the street from our hotel.  We were on a tour when we visited in 2004, so we could not spend too much time there.  In 10 years this museum grew tremendously.  We started at the top floor and worked our way down as the exhibits traced the history of this musical genre from its very early days to the present.  There was an exhibit covering the long career of Glen Campbell.  There was an interesting exhibit of the Bakersfield  Sound featuring Buck Owens and others.  There was video of the Beatles singing Act Naturally in 1965 followed by a duet of  Ringo Starr and Buck Owens doing the same song in 1989. There was a rotunda with plaques of all the inductees.  We spent 6 hours there and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Nashville has major league football and hockey teams, but the Nashville Sounds are in the AAA Pacific Coast League.  We took a short cab ride to Greet Stadium which is closing after this season as there is a new ballpark being constructed for the minor league team.  There will still be a scoreboard shaped like a guitar in the new stadium.  The Round Rock Express defeated the Sounds 6-4 in a game that featured 3 home runs.

Nashville Revisited 2014 - Day 1 - The Johnny Cash Museum

In other years when I went on vacation I would take a note pad and write down my observations, but this year I decided to write everything for Bruce’s Journal when I returned.  I have talked about Lee’s great enthusiasm for Johnny Cash.  A few years ago while listening to Johnny Cash Radio I heard about the Johnny Cash Museum which opened last year.  Lee insisted that we go to Nashville to see it this year.  We were in Music City in 2004, so it would be interesting to see how the city had changed in 10 years.

We arrived in Nashville on Saturday and by 11 AM we were at the Johnny Cash Museum.  It was small, but very impressive.  We spent about 3 hours there looking at all the memorabilia including many videos.  There were displays of both the 45 RPM and long playing records that Johnny released during his long and productive career.  There was a display showing samples of Get Rhythm released on 78 RPM, 45 RPM, and 33 RPM records followed by 8 track tapes (remember them), cassette tapes, compact discs and MP3s.  Of course we bought t-shirts in the gift shop.

In the evening we met up with my Cousin Bonnie whom I hadn’t seen in over 30 years.  I met her husband Clif for the first time as we ate dinner in a nice restaurant  near our hotel.  After dinner we took a walk on Broadway in Nashville and look who we met:

On Special Assignment

To use an expression made popular by Cousin Brucie, I am on special assignment for a few days.  Bruce's Journal will be back in a few days.

Thanks for reading.

McDougal, Dennis. 2014. Dylan: the biography.

I read yet another Bob Dylan Biography.  There has been so much written about the enigmatic Mr. Zimmerman over the years.  How do the biographies differ?  I guess there are different revelations in every one.  Chronicles, an autobiography, should be the definitive one, but it is vague and open to interpretation as many of Dylan's songs.  Part I was written in 2004, but there was never a part II.

It must be very hard to write a biography of Dylan since he rarely gives interviews.  The only thing that hit about this work is that McDougal claims that Dylan was a big womanizer.  This point may have been mentioned elsewhere, but for some reason it "hit" me this time.  It is well known that he married and divorced Sara Lowndes, but recent biographies report that he was married to Carolyn Dennis, one of his background singers.  McDougal states that Dylan may have been married two more times.  He may have fathered a few more children by girlfriends.

The biography should be read by Dylan enthusiasts who are "completists".  There are some details about Dylan's life that may be new to some of his fans.

Rock Stars as Radio Personalities

Let's see how many I can name.  I think they are better doing specialty shows/

• Bob Dylan - Theme Time Radio on SiriusXM - 100 excellent shows
• Micky Dolenz - Morning show host on WCBS-FM just before it was hijacked
• Tom Petty - Buried Treasure on SiriusXM - Excellent show
• Peter Noone - Does a show on SiriusXM 60s on 6 Saturday night before Cousin Brucie
• Rick Dees - worked in Memphis and then did a syndicated countdown show.  I guess his only hit Disco Duck
• Rufus Thomas - worked at WDIA Memphis

Learned About Windows 8.1 Today

The computing services people at NJIT regularly give short courses.  I attended a session today about Windows 8.1.  It really whetted my appetite about buying a new laptop.  I bought my current computer which runs on Windows Vista in May 2009.  There will certainly be a learning curve when I use a new operating system.  I really think that after I return from vacation, I'll be shopping around for a new laptop.

Random Thoughts of the Day

I started the day by confronting another train delay.  The bottom line was I arrived at work and didn't miss a class or a meeting.

We finally got some hot and humid weather so I can get some use out of my new air conditioner.

I am still mulling over whether or not I should buy a new laptop.  The old one has good and bad days.  It takes a long time to boot up and freezes at times.

I am looking forward to going on vacation to Nashville.  You can read about it out here when I return.

Texas Rangers 5 Mets 3

Another disappointing night at Citifield as starting pitcher Bartolo Colon gave up 4 runs in the first inning including a 3 run homer by Robinson Chirinos.  Colon settled down after that, but the Mets hitting was just not there as usual.  They did score 3 runs including a home run by Travis d'Arnaud, but could not hit with runners in scoring position.  Now the Mets have a record of 38-49.

I saw a lot of fans in the stands with Texas Rangers shirts on.  I suppose they are tourists from the Dallas Fort Worth area.

Game recap

Facebook Friend of the Day Jean O'Conner Prokopchuk

Sometimes you have more contact with a person on Facebook than you did when you first knew them all those years ago,  Jean O'Connor was a classmate of mine in PS 139 back in the late 1950s.  I hadn't heard anything from her for many years until we reconnected on Facebook.  Over the past few days she has posted class pictures from many years at the school.  It turns out that we were in the same class in the first and second grades.

In the photo above Jean is in the second row, second from the left.  Yours truly is in the back row wearing suspenders.

Thanks for sharing memories, Jean

Facebook Friend of the Day - Big Jay Sorenson

It must be tough to be an overnight radio personality.  But nobody does it better than Big Jay Sorensen seen abouve at the Ben's Deli at the November 2010 Oldies Meet and Greet.  The problem is that I am always sound asleep when he is on the air.  One of these nights I'll have to wake up and listen to him.  Back in the late 1980s he did the overnight shift on WNBC.  Many of those airchecks can be found at ReelRadio.


Be Big!!

The 50th Anniversary of A Hard Days Night is Coming Up

I remember seeing it at the Continental Theater in Forest Hills in July 1964.  Back in April I reported in this journal that the Continental Theater renamed the Brandon closed permanently.  Anyway there there is a remastered version of A Hard Days Night available in Blu-Ray and DVD to celebrate this anniversary.  It will also be released in selected theaters in 50 cities for the 4th of July.  It will be shown at the Film Forum in Greenwich Village.  I still have a VHS version of the film that I taped from Showtime years ago.