Bob Dylan's Not Dark Yet from the Fall 2019 Tour

The Never-Ending Tour continues.  Dates have been set for Japan in April 2020.  Anyway, early this month the tour resumed on the west coast featuring a new version of Not Dark Yet which is on my list of Top 25 Dylan songs.  It obviously illegal to record and post it to YouTube, but someone has done it and gotten away with it so far.  Hopefully, he will play this version when I see him at the Beacon Theater on November 23.

My Votes for The Top 77 Oldies of All Time

Every year Rewound Radio polls its listeners to compile a list of the most popular oldies of all time.  The compilers who include Mike Riccio and the "Survey Guys" who are very enthusiastic about charts.  They feel that radio stations fudge surveys that are voted by the listeners and that their survey is a completely accurate reflection of the voting. The number 77 is selected out of respect to Music Radio 77 WABC.  It is very hard to list just 10 of my favorites, but mine are listed below.  I only have only one Bob Dylan song on my list.  If you want to votes there are links to the voting page at Rewound Radio and the Oldies Message Board.  During the week between Christmas and New Years there will be a countdown of the Top 77.  Other hits that received votes will be played as well on Rewound Radio.

Song/Artist 1: Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan (1965)

Song/Artist 2: Mrs Robinson - Simon and Garfunkel (1968)

Song/Artist 3: Mr Tambourine Man - Byrds (1965)

Song/Artist 4: Mellow Yellow - Donovan (1966)

Song/Artist 5: Strawberry Fields Forever - Beatles (1967)

Song/Artist 6: Outa-Space - Billy Preston (1972)

Song/Artist 7: White Room - Cream (1968)

Song/Artist 8: All Things Must Pass - George Harrison (1971)

Song/Artist 9: Imagine - John Lennon (1971)

Song/Artist 10: It Don't Come Easy - Ringo Starr (1971)

Getting More Exercise These Days

View from the roof of my apartment building

They are installing a new elevator in my building which means that there is no elevator until about December 15th.  Since I am on the 5th floor this is turning into an inconvenience.  I can walk up the 5 floors or go to the other side of the building and take their elevator to the 6th floor, walk up to the roof and then over to my side of the building and then down to the 5th floor.  I must say there are some good views up there.  Above there is a view of the Manhattan skyline.  On the other side of the building, there is a good view of the Whitestone Bridge.  It is a pain doing food shopping and laundry since I have to schlep the stuff up and down.  I'll be getting more exercise for the next 2 months.

It seems that "Out of Sight Out of Mind" Wins Out Over "Keep in Touch"

When I retired in December 2017 people asked me to keep in touch and let us know how you are doing. This is easier to do in this era of email and social networking.  Years ago people had to contact each other by telephone. On several occasions, I sent an e-mail to former colleagues.  Sometimes they answered me, but very rarely did anyone take the initiative to contact me.  A week ago I announced that I won an award from Marquis Publications.  Several Facebook friends who are essentially strangers congratulated me.  I sent an email to the University Librarian and the Business Manager of my former employer asking to make an announcement to the staff.  Only 4 of the 20 people responded to me.  I am especially disappointed that my former direct supervisor did not contact me.

There is nothing I can do.  I guess "out of sight, out of mind" wins over "keeping in touch"

My Recent Trip to The Museum of the City of New York Prompted Me To Do Follow-Up Research the Performing Arts Library of NYPL.

One of the exhibits at the Museum of the City of New York demonstrated photographs of Frederick W. McDarrah in the Village Voice.  I never read that newspaper regularly throughout the years, but seeing that exhibit piqued my interest.  I spent some time with the following book.

Frankfort, E. (1976). The Voice: Life at the Village Voice. New York: Morrow

The Village Voice that commenced publication in 1955 upstarted the careers of rock critics including Richard Goldstein and Robert Cristgau.  The editors of the paper did not cultural accept the folk music of the early 1960s.  The editors felt that the folk music destroyed civic life in the neighborhood.  The newspaper was aimed at readers in that iconic neighborhood in the 50s and 60s.  In later years people outside Greenwich Village read the paper as well.

The Voice loudly celebrated Bob Dylan as his celebrity magnified.

While I was at the library I listened to an interview with Pete Fornatale by Rolling Stone Magazine in 1980 as they discussed his book Radio in the Television Age.

I also stopped by the exhibition about the famed Broadway producer Harold Prince.  It detailed the genius and innovative vision of Prince.

I am 70 1/2 Years Old Today

For many years I maintained an individual retirement account at my local savings bank.  Most of my retirement savings are in TIAA, so this is a supplement.  At age 70 1/2 one must begin to withdraw from their IRA which I had to do today.  I have other funds that I can draw from.  I am quite pleased with my retirement income.

My advice to readers here is that it is never too early to start saving for retirement.  Some people don't plan to fail, but they just fail to plan.  I saw that in a poster at my financial adviser's office several years ago.

Another Visit to the Museum of the City of New York

I last visited this museum this past February to see there the exhibit about Jackie Robinson.  In 8 months time were some new exhibits installed so I thought it was time for a return visit.  I was attract to "Cultivating Culture: 34 Institutions that Changed New York".  This exhibition tells these institutions’ stories through original imagery and objects.  I was most impressed by "The Voice of the Village that included photographs by Fred W. McDarrah whose photos were published for decades in the Village Voice.  It is a shame that the print newspaper folded in August 2017 while the online version ceased in August 2018.  Hey, Look what I found:

Bob Dylan Karen Dalton, and Fred Neil at the Cafe Wha in February 1961

We also saw "City of Workers, City of Struggle" about labor movements throughout the history of New York City.

We spent a little time looking at some of the permanent exhibits we had seen during other visits.

Comments About My Award

I received an email some time ago from Marquis Who’s Who publications asking for revisions for my biography as I was listed in a few of their directories.  I mentioned that I retired at the end of 2017.  In early September I received a phone call from that organization stating that I won their Lifetime Achievement Award.

The irony of this situation is that I never received an award from my former employer, but I was recognized by strangers.  Some years ago, the former University Librarian said that he would nominate me for the American Library Association’s “I Love My Librarian” Award.  When the call for nominations was announced, he saw that the application was extremely lengthy, and he did not want to go through this long process.  He said he would nominate me for a local, award but never did.

I had to overcome managerial prejudice at my last employer as I never received a promotion in 25 years.  I had to self-mentor and seek out challenging work on my own.  One of the directors marginalize me and effectively dragged me down professionally.  I remember those who valued me over the years and appreciate their support over the years.  Most of my memories of library managers are very negative.  Anne Buck, may she rest in peace, was the only manager there who motivated me.

I also appreciate the many congratulatory messages that I received through e-mail or Facebook.  I am disappointed that certain people did not contact me at this time.

I won the Marquis Who's Who Lifetime Achievement Award

I'd like to thank the numerous students, faculty, and staff whom I served throughout my career as a science/engineering librarian.  I would also like to thank Selenay Aytac of LIU Post, Vitaut Kipel and the late Moritia-Leah Frederick of the New York Public Library, and the late Anne Buck of NJIT for motivating me.

Announcement from Marquis Who's Who

Bruce Slutsky Presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who's Who

Mr. Slutsky has been endorsed by Marquis Who 's Who as a leader in the field of library science

FLUSHING, NY, September 10, 2019 — Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Bruce Slutsky with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Mr. Slutsky celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

Mr. Slutsky is a retired science and engineering librarian whose career at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark spanned 25 successful years. During his years at the institute, he was responsible for providing reference service to students of the technical disciplines offered by NJIT. He also instructed students how to effectively use printed and electronic resources to support research and course work.  He officially retired in 2017.

Accumulating four decades of experience in library science in all, Mr. Slutsky came from St. John's University in Jamaica, New York, where he served as head science librarian. He also held appointments in the New York Public Library's science and technology division in New York City and Schering-Plough Corp. in Bloomfield, New Jersey, and was a chemist for three years, working for Rhodia, UOP Fragrances, and Pfizer.  For one semester he was Adjunct Professor at the Palmer School of Library & Information Science teaching a class in Science and Technology Reference.

Further, Mr. Slutsky was active in the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific community, in the Career Consultants Program and its Division of Chemical Information.  Over the years he organized several Careers in Chemical Information workshops to advise chemists of the various career options outside of the laboratory.  He also served as chair of the Division’s Publication Committee and edited its newsletter.

Through the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) Mr. Slutsky organized and sustained a Special Interest Group of Science, Technology and Medical Librarians.  Through meetings and other events, members work to identify and develop effective strategies to promote the interests of professionals working in this area and their library organizations

Mr. Slutsky has contributed numerous articles to various professional journals in his area of expertise. He recently published "Nobel, Priestley, and Perkin Medal Winners in Chemistry: Their Publication Productivity for the Years 1992-2016" with co-author Selenay Aytac of LIU Post, which has since been released in 2017 in Science and Technology libraries.

Since he has retired, Mr. Slutsky has been active in the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).  He wrote a few articles for the Society’s Games Project and serves as the coordinator of fact-checking for that endeavor.  He applies his library skills to the society’s Baseball Index, an ongoing project of the Society to catalog the entirety of baseball literature, from the earliest references to the present day.

An alumnus of the City College of New York, Mr. Slutsky received a Bachelor of Science in chemistry in 1972. He soon after attended the University of Rhode Island, where he earned a Master of Science in chemistry in 1974. Following these accomplishments, he concluded his studies with a Master of Science in library sciences from Pratt Institute in 1982. In an effort to remain up to date with developments in his field, Mr. Slutsky maintains professional affiliation with the American Chemical Society. A celebrated Marquis listee, he has been included in the 27th edition of Who's Who in the East and the 54th edition of Who's Who in America

Anniversaries and Birthdays

The most important is that on October  16, 1983, I married Karen and the Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation.   The photo above was taken at last year's Oldies Meet and Greet. It's hard to believe that it is 36 years.

On October 16, 1969, the New York Mets won the World Series.  There were many events this year celebrating the 50th anniversary.

October 16, 1992, was the date of the "Bobfest"  at Madison Square Garden celebrating Bob Dylan's 30th anniversary in the music business. I couldn't get tickets, but I watched it on the pay per view telecast. In my opinion, it was the greatest concert ever.

October 15, 2005 - I started this journal.  I have written almost 4,000 entries in 14 years.

October 15 is the birthday of Roy H and Jeff S.

Bob Dylan Song in Rocket Mortgage Commercial

I think I have seen this commercial for Rocket Mortgage too many times especially since it is shown on Major League Baseball telecasts of the post-season.  Most viewers likely don't know that Bob Dylan's singing of la, la, la, la,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,  is from the song The Man in Me that was on the New Morning album released in 1970.  For readers who are interested, I am posting the lyrics.

The Man in Me
WRITTEN BY: BOB DYLAN

The man in me will do nearly any task

And as for compensation, there’s little he would ask

Take a woman like you

To get through to the man in me



Storm clouds are raging all around my door

I think to myself I might not take it anymore

Take a woman like your kind

To find the man in me



But, oh, what a wonderful feeling

Just to know that you are near

Sets my heart a-reeling

From my toes up to my ears



The man in me will hide sometimes to keep from bein’ seen

But that’s just because he doesn’t want to turn into some machine

Took a woman like you

To get through to the man in me
Copyright ©1970 by Big Sky Music; renewed 1998 by Big Sky Music

Happy 84th Birthday Cousin Brucie - May You Stay Forever Young

Yours truly with the Cuz at the WABC Cruise in June 2007compos

He has been on the radio for about 60 years and keeps on going on SiriusXM 60s on 6 Wednesday and Saturday evenings.  He sounds as he did back in the 1960s when he worked at WABC.  Instead of singing Happy Birthday to him, I would sing Forever Young by Bob Dylan.  On second thought, I don't sing very well so below are the lyrics to one of Dylan's best compositions:

Forever Young
WRITTEN BY: BOB DYLAN

May God bless and keep you always

May your wishes all come true

May you always do for others

And let others do for you

May you build a ladder to the stars

And climb on every rung

May you stay forever young

Forever young, forever young

May you stay forever young



May you grow up to be righteous

May you grow up to be true

May you always know the truth

And see the lights surrounding you

May you always be courageous

Stand upright and be strong

May you stay forever young

Forever young, forever young

May you stay forever young



May your hands always be busy

May your feet always be swift

May you have a strong foundation

When the winds of changes shift

May your heart always be joyful

May your song always be sung

May you stay forever young

Forever young, forever young

May you stay forever young
Copyright © 1973 by Ram's Horn Music; renewed 2001 by Ram’s Horn Music

The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash

This time, a book in the library led to our seeing a movie.  I was in the local branch of the Queens Library and perused the shelf of new books and found:

Laurie, G., & Terrill, M. (2019). Johnny Cash: The redemption of an American icon.

Since my son, Lee is a big Johnny Cash fan I thought I would pick up the book and try to find time to read it.  I looked at the cover which said "Soon to be a documentary film."  I used my expert research and found The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash opened this Friday, October 11th at the Cinema Village.  Lee was thrilled as we saw the movie today.

I know much of the story of Johnny's life, but I discovered some new details in the film.  It showed a few still photos of Dylan and Cash in the early 1960s.  For the first time, I heard Johnny sing Don't Think Twice It's Alright.

He certainly lived an amazing life.

Random Thoughts of the Day

I "survived" another Yom Kippur.  It seems that as I get older, the fasting becomes easier.  I almost passed out the first time I fasted a few months after my bar mitzvah.

My former colleague Lisa W did well on the Jeopardy test and was invited to Philadelphia for further testing and an interview.  I certainly wish her all the best.

I spoke to another former colleague, HS, who started at the library in Newark at the same time that I did in 1992.  She recently retired and felt relieved to be away from the place.  I guess 25+ years at the same place is more than enough for most people.

The elevator in my building is being replaced.  For the next 10 weeks, I'll have to walk up and down from the stairs.  I was able to do it, but will have to minimize my trips until a new elevator is installed and ready to go.

Top 10 Moments for the New York Mets in 2019

All but one were home runs

The Antonio Hart Quintet at Flushing Town Hall

It is nice to have a concert venue in the neighborhood as we can walk to Flushing Town Hall in less than 15 minutes.  Also, the events are very reasonably priced.  Antonio Hart plays the saxophone as he led his group for two long sets of traditional jazz.  I am glad that he introduced his band members several times during the concert.  He is also a tenured Professor at the Aaron Copeland School of Music at Queens College.

I Hope That a Dispute Between Two Radio People Can Be Resolved Amicably

For many years I have listened to the 60s 70s show hosted by Bob Radil.  At first, it was heard on WNHU, a college station in New Haven, Ct. on Fridays from 6 PM – 10 PM. After that station dropped it, Rewound Radio that is owned by Allan Sniffen picked it up.  I have always enjoyed the show as it plays many rarities not normally heard on oldies radio stations and internet streams.  There are many unique features such as the 4th-hour theme and the songs that charted at #89 in the 1960s and 70s.  Bob lets his listeners program the show as he honors all requests.  On many occasions, he used my suggestions for the 4^th- hour theme.

Sadly, a dispute developed between Bob and Allan.  Dr. Sniffen disapproved of some of the features of the show and stated the number of listeners was declining.  Bob was very upset and did not run his show last night.  As a result, Rewound Radio was dark for 3 hours last night.  Allan decided to drop the 60s 70s show from his station.

Here are my comments:

Bob’s show is a specialty show with rarities and likely would not appeal to casual listeners who listen to Rewound Radio at other times.  His audience is very loyal and listens to the show very intensely.  Is it better to have a larger audience of casual listeners who use the station as background music or a smaller audience of active listeners who communicate with the host?  To use an analogy independent films that are artistically superior attract fewer moviegoers but win more academy awards.

Bob was upset and perhaps should have contacted Allan to say that he wasn’t running the show that night.  Certainly, the world didn’t come to an end when Rewound Radio was dark for 3 hours.  I think Allan overreacted by removing the show from his station.

Allan Sniffen has been an asset to the community of radio professionals and enthusiasts for many years.  His New York Radio Message board has been highly regarded for years. He has spent much of his own money to fund these endeavors.  I enjoy regular programming on Rewound Radio as it is a good mix of common oldies, rarities, and “Oh Wows”.  I also enjoy the aircheck show on Saturdays and Jon Wolpert’s show on Sundays.

I certainly hope that Allan and Bob can patch things up so that the 60s 70s show can resume on Rewound Radio. Over the years it has been an asset to the station.   If not, I hope another internet radio station will pick it up.

I am trying to be objective and not to antagonize anyone.

Meeting of Bob Dylan Fans at NYU on Thursday November 7th at 6 PM

There will be a gathering of Bob Dylan enthusiasts held on Thursday Night November 7 at 6 PM on the NYU campus, Room 712 of the East Building, 239 Greene Street, Manhattan.  Please bring some form of photo identification when you come.  I will need to send a list of attendees to security at NYU.  I am hoping that this group can be sustained.  At this organizational meeting, we can discuss our expectations for this group. After the meeting, we can go to a bar/restaurant for dinner and/or drinks. I especially thank Sal Fallica and the NYU administration for providing us with a conference room.  I also thank Walter Raubicheck of Pace University for helping me organize this group. Please sign up for this event on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/2409591859357639/ .  If you are not on Facebook, please send me an email at bruce@bruceslutsky.com so I can send your name to NYU security.

Hey Apple - Please Get Your Operating Systems Right the First Time

My iPhone 8 that I bought about a year ago with IOS 11.4 has run well.  Every time I turn my head Apple is offering a new operating system.  They all offer enhancements that are in my opinion minimal. They announced the coming of IOS 13, but I read some articles that stated there were serious problems, so I did not update.  Within a few days, there were 13.1, 13.1.1, and today 13.1.2.  Hopefully, that will be the end of it for a while.  Sometimes I think that if it isn't broken, don't fix it.  When will IOS 14 be out for iPhone12?