New York Rangers 4 Columbus Blue Jackets 1 at Madison Square Garden

 

We usually don't attend sporting events in Manhattan during the week, but the tickets are lower than on weekends.  The Rangers won their 11th game out of their last 12 and sixth in a row at home as Artemi Panarin had two goals and an assist, Chris Kreider had a goal and assist, and Adam Fox also scored. Goalie Igor Shesterkin stopped 30 shots.  The score was inflated as two of the Ranger's goals were on an open Columbus net with less than a minute to play.

Most of the fans were in their 20s and  30s while many young kids were featured on the video screen.  I guess their parents must fork over the big bucks for the tickets.

Game Recap

Outlaw Music Festival 2024 to Feature Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson

 

The Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour is scheduled to resume on March 1 in Fort Lauderdale and stop in Austin Texas on April 6.  It was reported today in Rolling Stone Magazine that Bob Dylan will be joining Willie Nelson and others at the Outlaw Music Festival from June 21 - September 17.  The good news for me is that the tour will stop at the Jones Beach Theater on June 29.

St. John's 80 Creighton 66 at Madison Square Garden

Since prices for basketball tickets are so high, we decided to take in a college basketball game at Madison Square Garden.  After all the student-athletes don't command multi-million dollar contracts.

Daniss Jenkins scored 27 points and dished out six assists to lead the St. John's men's basketball team in a Big East matchup. As a team, the Red Storm shot 47.2 percent from the field and hit 32 of its 34 made field goals inside the 3-point arc. St. John's also shot a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line. Defensively, the Johnnies allowed Creighton to shoot just 23.1 percent (6-26 3FG) from 3-point territory while forcing 13 turnovers.

St. John's is now 16-12 overall and 8-9 in the Big East Conference.  The men's basketball team has always been popular in the New York metropolitan area but has yet to be nationally ranked since Lou Carnesecca retired in the early 1990s.

Most customers got a free T-shirt.

 

First Bad News of 2024 for the New York Mets

The number one starter Kodai Senga was diagnosed with a moderate posterior capsule strain in his throwing shoulder  Senga is being shut down until his symptoms subside. He’s out indefinitely and will open the year on the injured list.  Teams spend millions of dollars in salaries for players who are injured. Hopefully, Senga can return early in the season.  The Mets shouldn't rush him back since that could aggravate his injury.

The pitchers most likely to replace Senga in the rotation are:

• Tylor Megill
• Joey Lucchesi
• José Butto
• Max Kranick

David Peterson will also start the season on the injury list.

 

I Participated in the SABR Baseball Memories Project

Since 2015, members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) have been developing and delivering baseball reminiscence programs in partnership with chapters of the Alzheimer’s Association, Veterans Administration facilities, and local senior/memory care organizations. This will hopefully improve the quality of living for people with dementia who like to reminisce about baseball.

Today I went to an organization in Manhattan with local SABR members called Caring Kind which provides services to adults at different stages of dementia.  We talked about the early New York Mets, Brooklyn Dodgers, and New York Giants, ticket prices, and salaries.  It was a rewarding experience.

For more information.

 

I am Saddened by Political Polarization Today

 

I remember the polarization between Hawks and Doves during the Vietnam War era.  The rift between Democrats and Republicans or Liberals and Conservatives is much worse today.  People either love Donald Trump or hate him.  I just cannot understand why people would a man indicted 91 times as their president.  Joe Biden is old but is not a criminal.

Here are a few examples of how polarization has hurt the country:

• In 2016 President Obama nominated Merrick Garland for Supreme Court Justice.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to allow Garland to be evaluated saying that the next president should make the appointment.  Sadly, Trump appointed three conservative justices confirmed by a Republican majority in the Senate.
• Speaking of Mitch McConnell, I read in a biography of Nina Totenberg, a close friend of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that McConnell would not allow Justice Ginsburg to lie in state in the Senate Chamber.  She did lie in state in the House chamber.  McConnell did not have the decency to pay respects to her.  He is 82 years old and hopefully will retire soon.
• George Santos should have been expelled from the House as soon as it was revealed that he lied about his credentials to the voters.  The Republicans would not expel him for nearly a year.

I could go on and on about political polarization, but i will close here.

Big Man in Town by the Four Seasons - My Favorite Big Song

 

Ten days ago I stated that Little Children by Billy J. Kramer was my favorite "Little" song.  Let me go in the other direction and choose Big Man in Town by the Four Seasons as my favorite "Big" song.

The Way We Were by Barbra Streisand - Song for a Sad Anniversary

 

Memories

Like the corners of my mind

Misty watercolor memories

Of the way we were

Scattered pictures

Of the smiles we left behind

Smiles we gave to one another

For the way we were

Can it be that it was all so simple then?

Or has time rewritten every line?

If we had the chance to do it all again

Tell me, would we, would we,

Could we, could we?

Memories

May be beautiful and yet

What's too painful to remember

We simply choose to forget

Can it be that it was all so simple then?

Or has time rewritten every line?

If we had the chance to do it all again

Tell me, would we, would we,

Could we, could we?

Memories

May be beautiful and yet

What's too painful to remember

We simply choose to forget

So it's the laughter

We will remember

Whenever we remember

The way we were

The way we were

I miss you baby

The way we were

The way we were

I miss you so much baby

I miss the way we were

There was a Vote in Congress to Abolish the Electoral College in 1969

I have expressed my displeasure with the Electoral College in this journal and on X (formerly Twitter).  Should we have 1 election or 51 elections?  Why should a candidate with less popular votes win the election?  It would require a vote of 2/3 in the House and the Senate followed by ratification by 38 state legislature.  This would never happen in today's political climate. Until today, I was only aware of New York Times journalist Gail Collins speaking out against this dinosaur from our constitution.  I just wish that some Senators or Representatives would bash it.

I found out today from a History Channel website that in 1969 the House of Representatives by a wide margin voted to abolish it, but a filibuster in the Senate led by Southerners killed the bill.  Even if the Senate passed the resolution, 38 state legislatures must approve it.

I also found out about the book Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College written by Jesse Wegman, a member of the New York Times editorial board.  Back in 1968 80% of Americans felt the president should be elected by popular vote.  How many would want that today?

 

I Won a Basketball Autographed by Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks

 

A few weeks ago the Garden of Dreams Foundation had a fundraising drive on New York Knick telecasts.  Donors were entered into a drawing for various prizes to incentivize people to participate.  I won the Jalen Brunson autographed basketball, as seen above.  I rarely enter contests and I am not an autograph hound.

Oldie of the Day - No Sugar Tonight by the Guess Who

 I heard No Sugar Tonight on Sirius/XM this morning.

Are Readers of My Journal Interested in Dick Tracy Cartoons?

 

This video includes 16 episodes of the Dick Tracy cartoon series

Back in the early 1960s Channel 11 in NYC showed Dick Tracy cartoons with Chief Joe Bolton as the host.  It has not been seen on TV in several decades since the episodes are politically incorrect with ethnic stereotypes.

In March 2015 I posted an entry Mumbles was My Favorite Dick Tracy Villain .  In nine years this post has been hit 1,930 times, the 12th most popular article in the history of this journal. Why?  Are my readers big fans of the Dick Tracy cartoons?

Little Children by Billy Jay Kramer and The Dakotas - My Favorite Little Song

 This morning's Question of the Day on WFuv was songs with tiny, small, little or the like in the lyrics.  Host Corny o"Connell packed the following four:

• Wilson Pickett "Mini-Skirt Minnie"
• Chuck Prophet "Smallest Man in the World"
• Elton John "Tiny Dancer"
• Susan Tedeschi "Little by Little"

My favorite is Little Children by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas.

Kudos to the NYPD and Queens DA Melinda Katz for Removing Illegal E-Scooters and E-Bikes

 

There was an excellent story on NY1 News last night by reporter Justine Re on the efforts by the  NYPD and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz to remove e-scooters and e-bikes.  Their major concern was the use of these vehicles to commit crimes.  For example, an e-bike will approach someone and steal his cell phone.

I am concerned with their menace to pedestrians and automobiles.  These creeps drive on sidewalks with little regard for walkers.  It is impossible to hear a bicycle or scooter if it is behind you.  I have had a few calls with those vehicles almost hitting me.  If they do hit a pedestrian, they would just drive away.  These cyclists disregard traffic lights and stop signs when they are on the streets.  Of course, there is the issue of the lithium-ion batteries causing fires.

This will continue to be a problem especially since e-bikes are used to deliver food.  There certainly cannot be a police officer on every block to regulate e-bikes and scooters.  I thank them for doing their best to combat this problem.

Random Thoughts of the Day February 4, 2024

Occasionally, I listen to podcasts, but many are just too long.  Do people want to listen for an hour or more?  I wish podcasters would limit their discussions to 30 minutes.

I don't understand why people want to start chats with strangers that are quite intense for a day or so and then all of a sudden just die out.  I have had several such chats with young Asian women.  I don't understand why they pick me.  I always advise them of my age and status.

I appreciate the enthusiasm of my radio friends who are chart enthusiasts.  Back in the day, I would follow the surveys of WABC and WMCA and root for my favorite songs to move up the charts.  I remember statements from two famous radio personalities:

Murray the K - If you enjoy a song, why should you care about what number it is.

Jerry Blavat (The Geator) - I play from my heart not by the charts.

 

I'm Gonna Love You Too - My Favorite Buddy Holly Song

It is 65 years ago today that we lost Buddy Holly, J. P. Richardson (The Big Bopper), and Richie Valens in a terrible plane crash in Iowa.  Their music lives on after all these years.  In the mid-1960s, a TV show called Hullaballoo featured the popular music of the day.  There was a house band called the Hullaballoos that covered I'm Gonna Love You Too.

 

Book Review: In the Form of a Question: The Joys and Rewards of a Curious Life by Amy Schneider

 

Sometimes, I like to use a public library the old-fashioned way by perusing the stacks.  Since the branch library in my neighborhood is very small, my expectations are minimal. A few days ago I found In the Form of a Question: The Joys and Rewards of a Curious Life by Amy Schneider in the new books section.  Since Amy won 40 games on Jeopardy, I had to take out this book.  Amy is also transgendered.

I expected much of the book to be devoted to her long run on Jeopardy, but it emphasized her sexual issues.  She did not use a chronological method in writing her autobiography.  It is confusing not knowing the gender while reading the book.  She added numerous non-bibliographic footnotes that were very distracting and did not enhance the text.

I admire Amy for her courage in making the transition from a man to a woman.  I wish more of the book was devoted to her exceptional run on Jeopardy.