Speculation about the Next Host of Jeopardy

 

An article by Randee Dawn lists the following contenders for the future host of Jeopardy:

• Ken Jennings
• Tom Bergeron
• Alex Faust
• LeVar Burton
• Laura Coates
• Anderson Cooper
• Betty White

The article gives a short bio of each and the rationale of why each is a good candidate for the job.  Thus, it is not necessary to repeat it here.  Brooke Burns who is my favorite is not listed.  We know that Ken Jennings will be an interim host, but at this time it is not known who else will be given an audition.

Of the 7 listed above, I feel that Anderson Cooper is the best suited as he is scholarly and has appeared on the celebrity version of Jeopardy.  I predict that Ken Jennings will get the job permanently as he has always been popular with the show's audience.  He will just need some training in public speaking since he never hosted a TV show whereas the others are either actors, newscasters, or sportscasters.

Stay tuned.

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MOMA at PS 1 Revisited

I last visited this branch of MOMA in July 2019.  Thankfully the museums in NYC have re-opened but with the COVID numbers increasing they could close again.  MOMA at PS 1 is a small museum, but since it is in Queens it is a short subway ride on the #7 Train.

There was one major exhibit open on the first floor called Marking Time: Art in the Age of Incarceration.  It explores the work of artists within US prisons and the centrality of incarceration to contemporary art and culture.  I must assume that the artists featured had their talent before they entered prison, but it is possible that some learned how to draw while they were incarcerated.  Below are three works of art that caught my eye.

It is evident that this was drawn this year

2020 Anniversary Mix of All Things Must Pass by George Harrison

 

Here we go again, the 50th anniversary of a significant album is coming up.  This is certainly my favorite release from a former Beatle that I purchased in vinyl in 1971 with my allowance money.  For now, a remix of the title track has been issued.  This means that a boxed set will be released in 2021 with alternative versions and outtakes.  I'll have to decide if I will purchase this.

More information.

Random Thoughts of the Day

 

I have been perusing some older posts of this journal that had YouTube videos.  Many of them were taken down since I posted them years ago.  I assume that they were posted illegally since they violated copyright law. 

I still think that very often the media creates the news:

• There was much ado on The Today Show as they did a story on how Meghan Markle suffered a miscarriage.  Do Americans really care about this?
• There was a mention that today would have been the 60th birthday of JFK Jr. who tragically died in an airplane accident in 1999.  Is this of interest to news hounds?
• The media made much ado about the owl that was found in the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.  Someone even created a Twitter account for the owl.  I guess some people have nothing to do.

Jeopardy News - Ken Jennings will be the First Interim Jeopardy Host

 

On Wednesday, November 18 I raised some questions about the future of Jeopardy.  A few of them were answered.

• There will be reruns in the weeks of December 21 and 28th.  This makes sense as people will be busy with the holidays and away from their TVs.
• Alex Trebek's last week will be aired from January 4-8.
• Ken Jennings will be the first interim host beginning January 11.

Here are some questions:

• How long will Ken be the interim host?
• What other people will serve as interim hosts?  Steve Harvey, Brooke Burns, and Joey Fatone come to mind as they are currently hosting game shows, but will an actor, newscaster, or former athlete appear as an interim host?  There is an online petition for Levar Burton to be the host.
• Will the time as an interim host be an audition for the permanent host?
• Who will be the permanent host and when will he/she assume the position?

Stay tuned.

An Evening of Song & Stories with Chris Hillman

 

This YouTube video is about 1 hour and 19 minutes long.  I am leaving it here as a reminder to watch it when I have time.  Likely, I will have to listen to it in 2 sittings.

Time Between: An Autobiography of Chris Hillman Best Known as a Member of the Byrds

 

I am writing this review as  I am reading it on the Amazon Kindle.  I have completed about 75% of it and will finish it by tomorrow. Chris is best known for being a member of the Byrds.  He was members of several other groups:

• Desert Rose Band
• Manassas
• McGuinn, Clark & Hillman
• Rice, Rice, Hillman & Pedersen
• Souther-Hillman-Furay Band
• The Flying Burrito Brothers
• The Hillmen

I have followed his career since The Byrd's famous cover of Dylan's Mr. Tambourine Man in 1965.  I really think he didn't the recognition he deserved in that group since they were 5 excellent musicians.  When most people think of the Byrds Roger McGuinn comes to mind.  He stayed with the group until the Sweetheart of the Rodeo album in 1968.  I had the pleasure of seeing him in concert at New York's Town Hall celebrating the 50th anniversary of Sweetheart of the Rodeo.

The book is an autobiography written without a ghostwriter.  Chris is very candid as he outlined his personal and professional lives.  Some consider him one of the fathers of country rock. I never read a book or article where a musician was critical of some of his own work.  I enjoyed two of his songs on The Byrds, a reunion album of the five original members issued in 1973 (Things will be Better and Borrowing Time) but Chris stated he didn't like them.

I found out much about Chris that I didn't know even though I've heard his music for over 50 years.  I didn't know that his father was Jewish and committed suicide when Chris was young.

I highly recommend this book for all fans of folk, folk-rock, country, and country-rock music.  Here are a few other relevant websites:

• Interview of Chris on Songcraft Spotlight on Songwriters - done in April 2019
• Wikipedia Entry for Chris Hillman
• Discography of Chris Hillman from Allmusic

Chris Hillman, Roger McGuinn, and Marty Stuart singing Time Between

on the Sweetheart of the Rodeo Anniversary Tour.

What is the Future of Jeopardy?

 

Nobody can replace Alex Trebek as the host of Jeopardy, but someone will eventually succeed him as the host of Jeopardy.  I am certain that by now the producers of the show have privately had discussions.  Will the next host be "grandfatherly" as Alex was, a younger man, or a woman.  There is an online petition to appoint Levar Burton as the host.  Some people think Ken Jennings should be the new host. I proposed Brooke Burns as she has experience as the host of two quiz shows that have featured Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer.

Jeopardy shows with Alex as host were pre-recorded until October 29 and will air until Christmas Day.  There are options for the producers:

• Air reruns until a permanent host is appointed
• Make someone an interim host until a permanent successor is found
• Give applicants trial runs as host as part of their interview
• Appoint a permanent host immediately

Some viewers equated Alex with Jeopardy and may not watch the show again.  We will have to wait and see what will happen.

Bicycle Safety Should Be a Serious Issue

 

The number of bicycles on the street has grown tremendously in 2020 likely since people are afraid of contracting COVID on public transportation.  The National Safety Transportation Administration (NSTA) reported 857 death of bicyclists in 2018.  Obviously, cars must watch out for cyclists, but bicycle riders watch out for cars and pedestrians.  I am a driver of a car and a pedestrian as well and have observed carelessness on the part of all.  When I walk along a sidewalk I can see bicycles coming from the other direction, but can not even hear a bicycle behind me.  On a few occasions a bike almost him me.  Here are some guidelines from NSTA:

• Drive with the flow, in the same direction as traffic.
• Obey street signs, signals, and road markings, just like a car.  - I rarely see cyclists stop for red lights
• Assume the other person doesn’t see you; look ahead for hazards or situations to avoid that may cause you to fall, like toys, pebbles, potholes, grates, train tracks. - Do cyclists look out for pedestrians on sidewalk?
• No texting, listening to music, or using anything that distracts you by taking your eyes and ears or your mind off the road and traffic.  - When a cyclist is listening to music through headphones, he is essentially deaf to any other noise.  I have also seen cyclists looking at their phones.

Let's hope that cyclist, pedestrians, and drivers use common sense.

American Folk Art Museum Revisited

 

Since I hadn't visited the American Folk Art Museum near Lincoln Center since April 2019, I thought it was time for a return visit as the exhibits change.  This museum only shows works from artists who are self-taught so don't expect anything from Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, or any other well-known artists. It is a small museum, but there is no admission charge.  Patrons are encouraged to give a small donation.  All museums in NYC require advance reservations so that social distancing among patrons is enforced.

There were two major exhibitions:

• American Perspectives: Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection
• Six Decades Collecting Self-Taught Art: Revealing a Diverse Artistic Narrative

Below are two works that I will feature in this entry

Self-Portrait of Luke Haynes (b.1982)

Since the subject of this portrait is wearing

a tape measure around his neck,

I am guessing that he is a taylor

Happy 75th Birthday Neil Young

 

Bob Dylan and Neil Young perform Will The Circle Be Unbroken

at Nowlan Park Kilkenny in July 2019

Happy Birthday, Neil. A review of this concert may be found in the Irish Times.

Brooke Burns Should Be Considered as the New Host of Jeopardy

 

Nobody can replace Alex Trebek as the host of Jeopardy.  Someone must succeed him since the show is so popular, but I just read that 50% of the viewers will not watch the show with a new host.  There are now 34 shows left that were recorded with Alex hosting before his death.  No future host has been announced, but certainly, the producers of Jeopardy have given some thought to a future host after Alex's illness was announced.  He fought the disease with great courage.

Brooke Burns is the host of two shows on The Game Show Network:

Master Minds   (Ken Jennings appears on this show)

The Chase (American version featuring Mark Labatt as The Beast)

She is an intellectual with a good sense of humor who interacts well with the contestants.

I hope the producers of Jeopardy will consider her as the new host of Jeopardy.

Rest in Peace Alex Trebek

 

Today we heard the bad news that Alex Trebek passed away from pancreatic cancer at the age of 80.  He was very candid with his fans by publically announcing in March 2019 he had the 4th stage of this miserable disease.  He kept everyone advised of his progress in fighting this terrible form of cancer which has a low survival rate.  My father fought pancreatic cancer from 1995 until he passed away in September 1997,  Alex really loved being the host of Jeopardy as he hosted the show while he was taking chemotherapy.

I have been a fan of Jeopardy since the Arthur Flemming days in 1964.  It was hard to watch it since I was in school while the show was on weekdays at 12 noon.  The show was on hiatus for 5 years until 1984 when the syndicated version hosted by Alex premiered.  For most of its run, it was on weekdays at 7 PM which was much more convenient for me.  I rarely missed a show and always recorded it when I was away from home in the early evening.

If you are interested there were many posts in Bruce's Journal about Alex Trebek.  I assume there are several weeks of shows not yet seen with Alex hosting it.  Somebody will succeed him as the host of Jeopardy, but it will not be the same.  It would be inappropriate to speculate on who will be the new host of the show so shortly after his death.  I have someone in mind I feel could succeed him, but not reveal the name at this time.

Very shortly after his death was announced WABC-7 gave a tribute.  I have chosen to post here the tribute from Entertainment Tonight.

Rest in peace Alex.

Dedication to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris - We're a Winner by the Impressions

 

A picture is worth a thousand words

Dedication to Donald Trump I'm a Loser by the Beatles

 

No further comment is needed.

Thoughts on Steve Cohen Taking Over As Owner of the Mets

 

I really don't want to discuss politics especially the counting of the votes in the battleground states which are very close.  The current president will not give up very easily.  The biggest event in sports for me has been the sale of the New York Mets from the Wilpons to Steve Cohen.  On the first day after the sale was completed he clean house in the front office by terminating Brodie Van Wagenen and Omar Minaya among others.  I was not impressed by Brodie's trades and free-agent signings during his two-year tenure as General Manager.  Now Sandy Alderson will make all the major decisions and will likely appoint a new General Manager.

Steve Cohen is a very wealthy man whose assets are greater than $14 Billion.  He should not be tempted to spend money just for the sake of it.  There have been some very poor free agency signings over the years when either the player developed injuries or just did not perform.  I hope he takes the approach of developing players in the farm system and paying them well when they perform at the major league level.  A few free-agent signings to fill holes in the roster should work.

Off the field, I am hoping there will be a statue of Tom Seaver outside of Citi Field.  Restoring the old-timers game would also work well.

We'll have to wait and see what happens.

Count Me In by Gary Lewis and The Playboys - Oldie of the Day

 

This is a very strange video for a "good time" oldie.  I think counting is on everyone's mind today.  The count of the votes in the presidential election must be thorough and accurate to make sure the right candidate wins.  Like in 2016, this would not be a problem if the candidate with the highest popular vote wins the election.  Joe Biden has more than 2 million popular votes but does not yet have the required 270 votes in the Electoral College to become the next president.  I sense that this will drag on, but a president must be inaugurated on January 20, 2021.

Comments on Election Day (before counting the votes)

 

I heard reports all week about long lines at the polls during the Early Voting.  For that reason, I decided to wait until Election Day to cast my ballot at the local elementary school.  I was quite surprised to be able to just walk in and vote without any waiting.  I voted for Joe Biden and the entire Democratic ticket.  I feel that Donald Trump is the worst president in the history of this republic.  As early as January he did inform the public of the dangers of the coronavirus.  He said it was just sniffles and would be over by Easter.  Even now he downplays the seriousness of the recurrence of cases of COVID.  There are many other issues where he failed the citizens.  I am not a political person and don't want to spend time writing up his failures.

The counting of votes will be much different this time as so many votes were submitted by mail.  Obviously, if Trump loses he will argue that there were irregularities in the voting process.  I really hope that there will not be any civil unrest after the result is known.

I always curse the Electoral College when I see Trump.  Hillary Clinton in 2016 won the popular vote by 3 million votes but lost in the Electoral College.  I just don't understand why no serious effort was made to abolish it since it is a relic of the early days of our nation.

Today's Radio Log

 

• 6:30 AM -1010 WINS - catching up on the news
• 7:00 AM - WCBS-FM America's Greatest Hits with Scott Shannon
• 8:00 AM -Breakfast with the Beatles Ken Dashow on Q-104.3
• 8:30 AM - American Top 40 with Casey Kasem on iHeart Radio App
• 9:30 AM - Beatles Channel on SiriusXM
• 10:00 AM - Sounds of the Sixties with Tony Blackburn on BBC2
• 3:00 PM - Rewound Radio with Jonathan Wolfert featuring jingles
• 4;00 PM - Definitely Dylan podcast with Laura Tenschert and Robert Chaney
• 5:30 PM WFUV with John Platt
• 6:00 Pop Gold Radio with That Thing with Rich Appel
• 8:00 PM - 60s on 6 on SiriusXM