Visit to the New York Historical Society Museum

Since I retired at the beginning of the year I have become a regular patron of the cultural venues of New York City.  Today, I visited the New York Historical Society Museum & Library at Central Park West and 77th Street.

I was attracted to this museum today by the gallery featuring the photographs of George Kalinsky, the official photographer of Madison Square Garden.  I saw photos of the 1970 champion New York Knicks, Rangers, Yankees, and Mets.  Non-sports photographs were also shown.

Another exhibit showed the civil rights initiatives of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy in the 1950s and 60s.

A major exhibition traced the history of the Vietnam War from 1945 to 1975 which was a sad chapter in  American History.  It brought back bad memories of the military draft and the deep divisions the conflict created between those who supported and opposed American involvement.

The other current exhibits are listed at http://www.nyhistory.org/exhibitions/current-exhibitions

It was certainly an enjoyable day.

Happy Birthday Johnny Cash

Today would have been the 86th birthday of Johnny Cash who is very popular in the Slutsky household.  It is hard to believe that it is over 14 years since he passed away.  He left us a very big body of music.  Ring of Fire is one of my favorites.

Seton Hall 81 St. John's 74 in OT at Madison Square Garden

St. John' plays about 4 basketball games every season at Madison Square Garden, so today we decided to go to see them play Big East rival, Seton Hall.  The game was very close as neither team led by more than 6 points.  At the end of regulation, the score was tied at 70.

However, Seton Hall pulled ahead in the overtime period and won the game 81-74.  Khadeen Carrington scored 22 including 6 in overtime to lead the visitors to victory.

Game recap

Eric Alexander Quartet at Flushing Town Hall

Since Flushing Town Hall is within walking distance of home, we had gone to many concerts there on weekends over the years.  Very often there were good concerts on Friday nights that were reasonably priced, but I was just too tired to go after a long week at work.  Since I am now retired, I am much more refreshed on Friday nights. 

Last night we attended a jazz concert with the Eric Alexander Quartet.  The musicians were:

• Eric Alexander - saxophone
• Harold Mabern - piano
• John Webber - bass
• Joe Farnsworth  drum

The concert was very enjoyable.

First Spring Training Game Today

It didn't matter that the Mets beat the Atlanta Braves 6-2 in Port St. Lucie. It just meant that since spring training games have just started, the regular season can't be too far away.  This year opening day is early on March 29.  Hopefully, it won't be cold that day.   New manager Micky Callaway let the pitchers go only one for one inning.  Both established Mets and rookies not likely to make the team appeared in today's game.  If there are no major injuries, the Amazins should be competitive this season.  At this point we can only hope for the best.

Serendipity at the Paley Center Finding Art Fleming's Jeopardy Among Other Things

Today I went to the Paley Center with Karen and Lee without anything specific in mind.  Karen was interested in the Moody Blues.  A search yielded an appearance on the Tom Jones Show in 1969.  Lee was interested in Johnny Cash so we found some of his performances from 1958.  I did a search on Bob Dylan and found an appearance in 1979 on Saturday Night Live where he sang Gotta Serve Somebody.

Just for the heck of it I searched under Jeopardy and found two episodes from the 1970s featuring Art Fleming with Don Pardo as the announcer.  The amounts for each question were much lower back then, and the second and third place finishers could keep their winnings.  If I remember correctly Art Fleming was the host from 1964-79.  The Alex Trebek version started in 1984 and is still going strong.

Bob Dylan Cover of the Day - Dark Eyes by Dawn Landes & Bonnie "Prince" Billy

I was listening to Bob Dylan Tracks this morning and Dan Murphy played Dark Eyes by Dawn Landes & Bonnie "Prince" Billy.  I actually have this CD called "A Tribute to 80s Dylan."  I also remember seeing Dylan in concert at the Beacon Theater where he sang Dark Eyes with Patti Smith.

Minnesota Wild 5 New York Islanders 3 at Barclays Center

For the second time this season we went to Barclays Center to see the Islanders play.  Jason Zucker scored 2 goals to lead the Wild to the 5- 3 victory. Devan Dubnyk excelled in the goal for the Wild as he made 32 saves.  I guess I am not in the mood for writing this evening :) .  You can read the recap linked below for all the details.

Game Recap 

Donald "Fuzzy" Cohen New York's Greatest Sports Fan Passes Away

I read in several Twitter accounts that Fuzzy died of a heart attack yesterday.  He had to have attended thousands of games at Shea Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Madison Square Garden, Citi Field and other sports venues over the past 60 years,  He often took bus rides to visit teams while they were on the road.  I remember first seeing him in Section 1 of the upper deck of Shea Stadium in August 1978.  I had seen him umpteen times at the Met and Yankee games that I attended over the years.  Each arena should retire a seat in his honor.  He was featured in an article in the New York Times in 2006.

RIP

My Yearly Visit to the Museum of the City of New York

I just checked my archives and determined that the last time I visited this museum was on January 2, 2017.  All museums have permanent and temporary exhibits.  The exhibits that I viewed today were:

• Martin Luther King in New York City - photos and recordings of his appearances in the 50s and 60s.
• Art in the Open - Fifty Years of Public Art in NYC
• Beyond Suffrage - A Century of Women in NYC politics.  I enjoyed seeing photographs of the late Bella Abzug.  Once in the 1980s when I worked at NYPL I saw her walk through Times Square
• Activist New York

So far I have visited three museums since the first of the year.

My First Publication as a Retiree

For a few years, I have been involved in the SABR Games Project .  I finally decided to write up a game for the project.  In early January I was perusing the shelves of my small local public library and found this book:

Bondy, Filip. 2016. Pine tar game: the Kansas city royals, the New York Yankees, and baseball's most absurd and ... entertaining controversy. New York: Scribner.

Reading the book stimulated me to write it up for SABR. It took a while as I had to conform to their writing style.  Tom Brown helped with it, but the editors were tough, so I had to revise it.  You can read the article at http://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/july-24-1983-george-brett-pine-tar-game

I think non-SABR members can access this, but if not email me at Bruce@bruceslutsky.com  and I'll send you the MS Word version.

I Have Given Up On the Knicks for this Season

I watched the Knicks play the Washington Wizards on TV last night.  Toward the end of the second quarter, they were leading by 27 points, but fell apart in the second half and lost 118-113.  The nicks have now lost 8 games in a row as their record has fallen to 23-36.  The season started off so promising as the player moves that they made in the off-season seemed to have worked out.  The downfall of the team this season can't be blamed solely on the major injury to Krisztap Porzingas.  He will likely miss part of next season.  It is now 45 years since they last won the NBA championship.  There is nothing to do but wait until baseball season.

Superman Again

Since I have much more time for reading, I thought it was time to find a book about the Man of Steel.  I looked through the branch system catalog of NYPL and found the following item which I borrowed and am reading on my Kindle Fire:

Haven, Tom. 2011. Our hero: Superman on Earth. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press.

Most of the book is concerned with the history of the Superman comic from its inception in the 1930s to the present.  I remember in the 1960s running to the neighborhood candy store to get the last Superman or Action Comics.

There was not much said about the TV show with George Reeves.  Superman and the Mole Men was actually a B movie that was released as a pilot for the TV series which aired in syndication from 1951-57.  The movie was condensed into two episodes aired in 1951.  Years ago I recorded several shows on VHS tape which I still have, but today I ordered seasons 3 and 4 on DVD.

My Little Town by Simon and Garfunkel

I requested this on Bob Radil's 60s 70s show on Friday night.  In the early 1970s, Paul and Art had split professionally, but My Little Town was their reunion single.  It appeared on Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years album and on Garfunkel's Breakaway album.  It was a hit in 1975 while I was working as a chemist for UOP Fragrances.

My Visit to the Performing Arts Library of NYPL

While I worked at NYPL (1983-90) I visited the Performing Arts Library several times as a patron, not a librarian.  I don't remember going there since then  Now that I am retired, I certainly have the time to visit.  There are actually two libraries in the building:

• Circulating collection - part of the Branch System
• Research Libraries - non-circulating

I had a couple of books in mind when I came to the Research Library

Sterling, Christopher H., and Michael C. Keith. 2006. The Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of radio. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn.

I ordered this 3 volume set and guess what?  The library pages could not find it.  This was a very common occurrence when I worked at NYPL, so I wasn't annoyed and ordered something else.

Howarth, Ian. 2017. Rock 'n' radio: when DJs and rock music ruled the airwaves.

Howarth is a Canadian so the book discussed how top 40 radio developed in Montreal in the 1960s.  He discussed radio stations CFCF and CKGM featuring DJs Dave Boxer and Buddy Gee.

The third book that viewed was:

Havers, Richard. 2017. Rolling Stones, on air in the sixties: TV and radio history as it happened.

It was a coffee table book that featured many photos of the Rolling Stones in their early years.  I was amused by seeing several photos of the Stones wearing the same clothes as they performed on TV.  Later in their career, they dressed in different outfits.

After that, I went downstairs I viewed an exhibit that honored Leonard Bernstein on the 100th anniversary of his birth.  It offered a comprehensive retrospective of his life and career in classical music. It included over 150 photographs, personal items, papers, scores, correspondence, and costumes.

From there I perused through the circulating library.  I didn't want to take out any books since I would likely have to make a special trip to Manhattan to return them.

I certainly enjoyed my day at the Performing Arts Library and will definitely make a return visit.

Thank You Paul Simon

I hope you can read this letter that was sent by Paul Simon to his fans.  I am happy that he is "retiring" on his terms and is going to give a tour with the proceeds going to philanthropic organizations.  I can understand that over 50 years of recording sessions and concerts is enough and that it is time for him to end it.  His legacy will endure for generations to come.  I am sure that the loss of his guitarist and friend Vincent N'guini was devasting to him.

I have completely enjoyed the music that he recorded with Art Garfunkel and as a solo performer.  Let me scratch my head and try to remember the concerts that I attended:

• Summer 1966 - Forest Hills Stadium with Art Garfunkel
• Spring 1987 - Paul Simon at Radio City Music Hall (Graceland Tour)
• July 1999 - Bob Dylan and Paul Simon at Jones Beach
• Fall 2009 - at Madison Square Garden with Art Garfunkel

Today, I visited the Paley Center and viewed American Masters: Paul Simon: Born at The Right Time that originally aired on PBS in 1993.

It is Sad That There is Such a Double Standard in This Country about Sexual Behavior

It is sad that so many people have been fired or compelled to resign for inappropriate sexual behavior.   In many situations, it was justified. The Temporary President of the United States as heard on this video from Access Hollywood brags about chasing married women.  Several senators including Kirsten Gillibrand have called for Trump's resignation.  None of them are Republicans.

I just don't know what else to say.

Atlanta Hawks 99 New York Knicks 96 at Madison Square Garden

Since Knick tickets are usually so expensive, we have only gone to college basketball games at Madison Square Garden.  Several weeks ago the team waved its Ticketmaster fees for online purchases so we bought tickets for today's game at a reasonable price.  The Knicks have improved since last season, but they have a problem in holding leads toward the end of the game.

The game was close for most of the way, but with 2:16 left the Knicks could not hold a 93-87 lead.  Kent Bazemore hit a 3-pointer with 6.7 seconds to play to put the Hawks ahead.  Tim Hardaway Jr. missed a potential tieing 3 point shot to give the Hawks the victory.

They had a contest asking fans to send a selfie to Twitter or Instagram.  The winner would get 2 free airline tickets from Delta.  I had nothing to lose by entering.

Yours truly at today's game

Game recap

Inventory of My Facebook Friends

It has been a long time since I looked at my entire list of Facebook Friends.  Here are some statistics about my 530 "friends"

146 - Never Met
45 - Met only once
190 - have not seen in at least 5 years

Sadly some of these people have passed away.

People interpret Facebook Friend differently.  In the early days of social networking, I tried to make friends with anyone, but as time went on I became more selective.  The biggest category (36%) is people I've met, but haven't seen in at least 5 years.  Most likely, I'll never see many again.

My friends fall into the following categories:

• Professional Acquaintances (librarians and NJIT people)
• People I knew in elementary school, high school, or college.
• Radio Enthusiasts
• Bob Dylan fans
• Baseball fans
• Family
• Lee's friends from high school

In recent years I have met several Facebook Friends for the first time at Citi Field.  When I arrive, I state that I am at the game and ask if anyone I know is here.

I Visited the Museum of Sex Today

Over the years I have seen plenty of advertisements on the subway for the Museum of Sex, so I thought today would be a good time to visit it.  5th Avenue and 27th Street seems to be a strange place for a museum.  I actually walked by 803 6th Avenue between 27th and 28th Street which was the home of Sigma Beta Phi fraternity in the late 1960s when I was a student at CCNY.  Back then the fraternity was a third-floor loft over a bar.  Today there was a florist instead of a bar, but the building looked unchanged.

The Permanent Collection consists of over 15,000 objects, including works of art, photography, clothing and costumes, technological inventions and historical ephemera.  The human body and the sex act can be considered works of art.  One exhibit showed animal sex which in many respects in similar to human sex.

It was an interesting visit, but one time there is likely enough for me.  Most of the patrons were in their 20s.