Everybody Wants My Money on Giving Tuesday

 

Over the past week, I have received umpteen e-mails asking for money today which is Giving Tuesday.  Most of these organizations are reputable and deserve support.  Over the course of a year, I donate to several organizations including radio stations, medical research associations, cultural institutions, and universities.  I also donate to groups supporting the help required after natural disasters.  Once I have made a donation to an organization, I am constantly bombarded by email and snail mail asking for more money.  Charitable organizations should lower their overhead by refraining from sending requests for donations via postal mail.

Today I donated to the Coalition for the Homeless.  I am saddened when I see homeless people sleeping on the street.  If I gave money to a single person I don't if that person will use it to buy food, liquor, or illicit drugs.  I know that the money given to an organization will be spent wisely.

2023 Will Be a Big Baseball Year for Bruce and Lee

Today I signed up for a Jay Buckley Baseball Tour that will stop in Tampa Bay and Miami.  It will be the first time I will be at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.   In 2015 I saw a game in Miami, but this year I will see the Mets for the first time on the road.  I will see their 2023 opener in Loan Depot Stadium.  I also bought a 20-game package of games at Citi Field that includes the home opener.  My package also includes a game against the Yankees.

In the meantime, I'll be watching basketball and hockey.

 

Today's Radio Log

 

On Saturdays, I have more time to listen to the radio.  So here is my list of stations for today.

• WINS-FM - the lead story was about a kid being stabbed in Staten Island.  So, what else is new
• WFUV - with Janet Bardini
• Elvis Radio on SiriusXM - I must keep Lee happy
• The Bridge on SiriusXM - light classic rock
• WBGO - Rhythm Revue with Felix Hernandez
• Q-104.3 - playing their listening voted top 1,043 classic rock hits
• WABC with the ageless Cousin Brucie

Trailblazers 132 Knicks 129 at Madison Square Garden

It has been several years since I last attended a Knick game at the Garden.  Including the Ticketmaster fee, I had to pay $228 for two tickets.  The prices don't prevent people from coming as there was a full house last night.

Jerami Grant scored a career-high 44 points, Anfernee Simons had 38 and the Portland Trail Blazers outlasted the New York Knicks 132-129 in overtime on Friday night.

Jalen Brunson scored 32 points and Julius Randle had 23 for the Knicks, who have lost three of their last four games. RJ Barrett added 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

The Knicks lost the game on the free throw line as they hit 24 for 28 while the Trailblazers were 38 for 51.

The game was tied in regulation, but Portland opened the overtime period with an 11-3 run.  They were able to hold on to the victory.

 

Cris Pannullo - Jeopardy's Latest Superstar

 On today's show, Cris Pannullo won $71,821 with a 14-day total of $487,923.  12 of his 14 victories were runaways.  He is now in the top ten of money winners and game winners in regular season competitions.  He has a similar background to Jeopardy legend James Holzhauer as he was once a professional poker player.  In October 2018 he appeared on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire and won a modest $5,000.

Of course, we must view one game at a time and can never predict how far he can go.  He has hit most Daily Doubles, bet big, and got the correct responses.  He will obviously be in the next Tournament of Champions.

Random Thoughts of the Day

 

It seems that most sports fans are going crazy over the World Cup.  Do these people follow soccer at other times?  I remember at NJIT, Reg, Jim, and Matt were big soccer fans at all times.  It reminds me of people who follow horse racing only during the Triple Crown.

I guess baseball writers have nothing to do during the offseason but to write speculative articles about free agency signings.  Duh, what will the Mets do if they lose de Grom or Nimmo or what will the Yankees do if Judge signs with another team?  I wonder if the sports betting apps are taking on wagers about where free agents land.

Another day, another mass shooting.  Six people were shot dead by a Walmart employee in Chesapeake, Virginia.  The New York Times compiled a partial list of mass shootings in the United States in 2022.

Two Online Relationships That Were Short and Sweet but Ended Abruptly

 

Some months back a woman followed me on Twitter.  Just for the heck of it, I followed her back.  All of a sudden, she chatted we me.  She lived in Tulsa, was divorced, and had a five-year-old daughter.  I mentioned to her the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa.  The chat was friendly, and then suddenly, she said she had no food in her home and asked me for money.  I immediately ended the chat and the mini-online relationship.

A young lady wanted to friend me on Facebook and said "Cool name Nice to meet you, I just read your profile and was surprised to find out that you live in Flushing?"  She wanted to continue to chat with me but suggested we use an app called Telegram since she thought Facebook Messenger was not secure.  A few things she said:

Good morning, I send you the first ray of sunshine in the morning, I hope he can bring you a good mood for the day, the weather in Toronto is not very good today, I will read at home in the morning, and I will make an appointment for a yoga class in the afternoon. What fun things are you planning to do today?

We also got into a discussion about Jeopardy.  She said she would leave Toronto in a few months and would come back to Queens.  My chats with her continued for about three days, but then just ended. A day later I sent her a message "How are you today?"  No answer, and so it ended.

In both cases, I mentioned my age and they did not have a problem as I was significantly older then them.

Oh, well.

Kudos to the NYPD/FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force for Preventing Anti-Semitic Attacks in NYC

 

s

Report from WABC-TV

Breaking - NYPD arrested Matthew Mahrer, 22, and Christopher Brown, 21 at Penn Station after the men threatened New York Synagogues.  An Ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Who knows what these low lives would have done if they were not caught.

Brown had been on the radar for making threats against the Jewish community for some time, and the threats were getting more serious recently, raising concerns.  Investigators searched Mahrer's apartment in New York City and found a Glock 17 firearm.

I hope these bastards will be fully prosecuted by the law.  The judge should set bail extremely high.

Thank you, NYPD and the FBI, for a job well done.

Folk Music: A Bob Dylan Biography in Seven Songs by Greil Marcus - But is it a Biography?

 

A biography is simply defined as an account of someone's life written by someone else. Many biographies are chronological while others are thematic.  There have been many biographies written about Bob Dylan.  Just a few of them are:

Dylan : a biography / Bob Spitz.Author  

New York : McGraw-Hill, c1989.

Bob Dylan : a biography / Bob Batchelor.

Batchelor, Bob, author.

Publisher           

Santa Barbara : Greenwood, [2014]

    

And forget my name : a speculative biography of Bob Dylan / Stephen Scobie.

Author  

Scobie, Stephen

Victoria, B.C. : Ekstasis Editions, 1999.

 

Bob Dylan : behind the shades : a biography / Clinton Heylin.

Author  

Heylin, Clinton.

Imprint 

New York : Summit Books, c1991.

Dylan : a biography / Bob Spitz.

New York : McGraw-Hill, c1989.

Greil Marcus is an American author, music journalist, and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics.  I had the pleasure of meeting him twice:

·        A symposium called Bob Dylan and the Band: What Kind of Love is this held at the 14^th Street Y in Manhattan in 2010

·        World of Bob Dylan Symposium in 2019 in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Three of his books about Bob Dylan are:

Marcus, G. (2013). Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan's basement tapes.

Marcus, G. (2006). Like a rolling stone: Bob Dylan at the crossroads.

Marcus, G. (2015). Bob Dylan: Writings 1968-2010

His latest book, the subject of this journal entry, is:

Marcus, G. (2022) Folk Music: A Bob Dylan Biography is Seven Songs

The Seven Songs in this book are:

• ·        Blowin’ in the Wind (1962)
• ·        The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll (1964)
• ·        Ain’t Talkin’ (2006)
• ·        The Times They Are a Changin’ (1964)
• ·        Desolation Row (1965)
• ·        Jim Jones (1992)
• ·        Murder Most Foul (2020)

Of these 7 songs, only Blowin’ in the Wind and The Times They Are Changin’ are Dylan classics and are known to most followers of popular music.  Those two songs consider Dylan’s involvement in the civil rights movement of the early 1960s and in a peripheral way may be biographical.  In The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll also refers to racial injustice.  Ain’t Talkin’, from the album Modern Times in my open should refer to Dylan’s refusal to give regular interviews or communicate with his fans.  Could Desolation Row mean that Dylan is desolate?  I don’t think so, but I don’t see biographical references in the song.  Jim Jones from the album Good As I’ve Been to You was arranged but not written by Dylan.  Murder Most Foul, Dylan’s longest song, addresses the assassination of John F. Kennedy in the context of the greater American political and cultural history.  It is really not biographical.

In my opinion some of Dylan’s love and anti-love songs may be biographical:

·        Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright

·        It Ain’t Me Babe

·        Boots of Spanish Leather

·        Tangled Up in Blue

What about

·        Bob Dylan’s Dream

·        Restless Farewell

Greil Marcus has written an excellent book, but it is appropriate for Dylan scholars and hard-core fans.  Casual fans should read the more traditional biographies.  Librarians have cataloged this book as Bob Dylan-Biography but should be cataloged as Bob Dylan-History and Criticism.

 

Exhibit on the Jewish Deli at the New York Historical Society

 I certainly have written about delis many times in this journal.  This new exhibit prompted me to make a return visit. The society's website states, "Our special exhibition examines how Jewish immigrants, mostly from Central and Eastern Europe, imported and adapted traditions to create a uniquely American restaurant and reveals how Jewish delicatessens became a cornerstone of American food culture."

I was especially amused by a video that shows how delis were portrayed in TV shows and movies including the famous scene in "When Harry Met Sally."

Delis portrayed in the exhibit include:

• Second Avenue Deli
• Katz's Deli
• Stage Deli
• Ben's Deli at 7th Avenue and 38th Street - site of the famous Oldies Meet and Greets
• Ben's Best Deli in Rego Park

Do you remember this advertisement scene decades ago in the NYC subway?

It is sad that so many kosher delis have closed over the years.  Likely, changing demographics is the primary reason for their demise.  Restauranteurs should try to apple to all ethnicities.

Bob Dylan Bootleg Series #17 Fragments will be Released on January 27

 

The rumors are now official that Bob Dylan Fragments - Time Out of Mind Sessions 1996-97 is coming out.  There will be a 2 CD and 5 CD version.  Of course I will have to get the 5 CD version.

DISC 1: Time Out Of Mind - REMIXED

DISC 2: Outtakes and Alternates (13 tracks)

DISC 3: Outtakes and Alternates (12 tracks)

DISC 4: TOOM Live 1998-2001 (12 tracks)

DISK 5: Previously Released Outtakes/Live (12 tracks)

There are two videos below.  An unboxing of the set and Leve Sick Take 2

War by Edwin Starr and The Temptations

 One of the songs discussed by Bob Dylan in The Philosophy of the Modern Song is War as recorded by Edwin Starr who had the hit version of it that hit #1 on the Billboard charts in 1970.  Dylan also mentioned a version by the Temptations.  Below are the two versions.  By the way, I found a very negative review of Dylan's recent book.  The reviewer, John Carvil, is a UK-based freelance reviewer, and the Editor of oomska, an online arts & pop culture magazine.

It's Cheaper to Keep Her by Johnnie Taylor - My Favorite from The Philosophy of the Modern Song

 

This song reached #15 on the Billboard charts in 1973.  For obvious reasons the philosophy behind it moved Bob Dylan.  He's had at least two and possibly four marriages. Those divorce lawyers are very expensive.

The 2022 Oldies Meet and Greet at Ben's Deli in Manhattan

 

Lee was at this year's event

Since 2006 we have held Oldies Meet and Greets at Ben's Deli in midtown Manhattan.  These events were documented in Bruce's Journal.  Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented us from meeting in person during 2020 and 2021.

Barbara Harris of the Toys was our guest at our gathering today.  She sang her big hit A Lover's Concerto which reached #1 on the WABC survey in October 1965.

Here Comes That Rainy Day Feelings by the Fortunes - Appropriate Oldie of the Day

 

I am looking out the window, but it is not raining yet.  The weather forecast calls for rain all afternoon as the remnants of Hurricane Nicole move into my area.  This song peaked at #15 on the Billboard charts in 1971.

Major League Baseball is Losing Popularity

Here is a quote from "The Athletic", an excellent online newspaper:

The Astros’ six-game series win over the Phillies averaged 11.78 million viewers on Fox, and 12.03 million combined viewers (Fox, Fox Deportes and streaming), the network said, which are fine numbers amid the harsh realities of the modern TV universe but still makes for one of the least-watched World Series on record.

In fact, it trails only 2020’s pandemic-affected Fox TV-only 9.94-million-viewer average (Dodgers over Rays). Last year’s six-game Braves win over the Astros averaged 11.94 million for the network, which has aired the World Series since 2000.

This is a concern since Philadelphia and Houston are major TV markets.

I believe that much of this decline can be blamed on the slow pace of the game and the predominance of walks, strikeouts, and foul balls.  Starting next season there will be a pitch clock and a limit on throws trying to pick off runners.  This should lessen the time of games.  Perhaps this will help to increase interest in baseball.

There may be some resentment about the outrageous salaries given to players.  Is any athlete worth $30 Million a year?

 

The Hot Stove League has Begun

 

For the benefit of my readers who are not baseball fans, The Hot Stove League is speculating about free-agent signings and trades that may or may not occur in the off-season.  Back in the old days, a reserve clause bound players to their team unless they were released or traded.  After six years of service, players may declare free agency and sign with another team.  The Mets and Yankees had good seasons as they made the post-season, but neither advanced to the World Series.  They obviously want to make moves to improve for 2023.  The teams may also lose players.  The question is how much money the team should offer to players.  The salaries are outrageous to pay men to play a boy's game.  The fans who buy tickets are paying these salaries.

Below is a list of players for the Mets and Yankees who may become free agents.

Mets

RHP Chris Bassitt (mutual option), RHP Carlos Carrasco (club option), LHP Alex Claudio, RHP John Curtiss (club option), RHP Jacob deGrom, RHP Mychal Givens (mutual option), RHP Seth Lugo, RHP Trevor May, OF Tyler Naquin, OF Brandon Nimmo, RHP Adam Ottavino, LHP Joely Rodríguez, 1B Daniel Vogelbach (club option), RHP Taijuan Walker, RHP Trevor Williams

Yankees

OF Andrew Benintendi, LHP Zack Britton, DH Matt Carpenter, RHP Miguel Castro, LHP Aroldis Chapman, UTL Marwin Gonzalez, RHP Chad Green, OF Aaron Judge, 1B Anthony Rizzo (opt-out), RHP Jameson Taillon

Stay tuned.

LIU Post 29 Central Connecticut State 20

For several years we have gone to one or two games every season to see LIU Post football.  The cost per ticket is an order of magnitude less than what I would have to pay at MetLife Stadium to see the Giants or Jets.  Years ago, the LIU sports teams were known as the Pioneers, but since then they changed the name and the logo to the Sharks.  Today they defeated the team from Central Connecticut State University in New Britain 29-20.  A few of my classmates at the University of Rhode Island graduate school were undergraduates at that university.

Since I am not a sports reporter, I'll refer my readers to the account of the game written by Adam Rubin.

LIU Post Mascot

 

My First Impression of The Philosophy of the Modern Song by Bob Dylan #poms in the Twitterverse

Even though I am running out of space to shelve books in my apartment, I decided to order this book in print rather than the e-book for the Amazon Kindle.  I am glad I did since the photographs and drawings enhance the text.  Fortunately, the weather in NYC has been unseasonable for early November and I sat on the benches outside my building to read it.

I am reading it more slowly than usual.  As of today, I have read exactly one-half of the book covering 33 of the 66 songs he evaluates.  Today I listened to several songs before I read Dylan's analysis. The songs that Dylan analyzes range from obscure to well-known. Likewise, some of the songwriters are obscure while others are well-known.  I hoped that songwriters such as Paul Simon, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Leonard Cohen, and Holland-Dozier-Holland would be included, but they are not.

Dylan praises Norman Whitman and Barrett Strong in his review of Ball of Confusion as recorded by the Temptations.  Very often Dylan's remarks can be taken out of context.  Here is a joke from the book - Because no matter how many chairs you have, you only have one ass.

My favorite song so far has been It's Cheaper to Keep Her written by Mark Rice and recorded by Johhny Taylor.  It is about divorce and includes a photo of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Burton.  There is a copy of an advertisement for a law firm specializing in divorces with the phone number 1-800-Divorce.  I think Dylan is likely an expert on divorces since he has been through at least two of them.

My writing above is not an exhaustive review of the book.  I'll leave it up to my Dylan scholar friends to do that.  The table of contents lists the songs but not their writers.

 

How Many Times Has Bob Dylan Been Married?

 

The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar, but how many times?

Dylan who is very secretive about his personal life, has been married at least two times:

• Sara Lowndes (1965-1967)
• Carolyn Dennis (1986- 1982)

Both of these marriages have been confirmed, but are there others?

This article quotes from the National Enquirer that Dylan was married to Darlene Springs in 2012 and divorced her after he learned of her out-of-control spending.  I doubt the veracity of a story from the National Enquirer.

I just completed an autobiography of Jann Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone Magazine.  He states that in 2019 he held a birthday party for Bruce Springsteen, and he sat next to Dylan and his wife who was not identified by name. Please see the excerpt below. Jann Wenner is certainly a reliable source.  Maybe Dylan has to tour at age 81 to pay alimony to three ex-wives.

Bruce's Journal was Temporarily Suspended by Blogger

For most of the 17 years that I have published this journal it was administered by Blogger, a service of Google.  All of a sudden, this morning I received the following email stating Bruce's Journal is being suspended.

Hello, As you may know, our Community Guidelines (https://blogger.com/go/contentpolicy) describe the boundaries for what we allow-- and don't allow-- on Blogger. Your blog titled "http://www.bruceslutsky.com/" was flagged to us for review. We have determined that it violates our guidelines and have made the URL http://www.bruceslutsky.com/ unavailable to blog readers. Why was your blog removed? Your content has violated our SPAM policy. Please visit our Community Guidelines page linked in this email to learn more. If we feel that a blog's content does not fit within the expectations of our Policy, we no longer allow it to be publicly available. If you think we've made a mistake, you can request a review at https://www.blogger.com/unlock-blog.g?lockedBlogID=7715848255210778936, and we'll take another look. Sincerely, -The Blogger Team

I certainly did not spam anyone with my journal.  I do receive hits from France and Russia that are likely from robots, but I did not initiate any spam.  I do post most of my journal entries on Facebook, but that is not spam.

I did click on the link and within minutes received the following reply:

Hello, We have re-evaluated your blog against Blogger Community Guidelines https://blogger.com/go/contentpolicy. Upon review, the blog has been reinstated. You may access the blog at http://www.bruceslutsky.com/. Thank you for understanding. Sincerely, The Blogger Team.

I guess all's well that ends well.  Perhaps they wanted to see that I was not a robot.

 

Beatles Revolver 2022 Version

 

In 1966 I bought the Beatles Revolver for the first time.  56 years later an updated version with remixes and outtakes was released.  There was a 2 CD and a 5 CD version released.  How many versions of Taxman must I hear, so I bought the 2 CD version.  The New York Times gave Revolver an excellent review.  CD #1 is a remix of the British Revolver while CD #2 is:

1. Paperback Writer (2022 Stereo Mix)

2. Rain (2022 Stereo Mix)

3. Tomorrow Never Knows (Take 1)

4. Got To Get You Into My Life (Second Version / Unnumbered Mix)

5. Love You To (Take 7)

6. Doctor Robert (Take 7)

7. And Your Bird Can Sing (First Version / Take 2)

8. Taxman (Take 11)

9. I’m Only Sleeping (Take 2)

10. Eleanor Rigby (Take 2)

11. For No One (Take 10 / Backing Track)

12. Yellow Submarine (Take 4 Before Sound Effects)

13. I Want To Tell You (Speech & Take 4)

14. Here, There And Everywhere (Take 6)

15. She Said She Said (Take 15 / Backing Track Rehearsal)