The Marianne Faithful - Bob Dylan Connection

 

Today we learned the Marianne Faithful passed away at age 78.  An obituary may be found in the New York Times.  She is best known for a hit with the Jagger/Richards song As Tears Go By.  Leave it to me to find a link to Bob Dylan.  She covered It's All Over Now Baby Blue.

I am Saddened by the State of Our Government

 

• The picture above demonstrates the lack of bipartisanship in our government.  There is an ideological "civil war" in the United States today
• President Trump wants to be a "quasi dictator".   To quote from the New York Times "he wants to go through the federal government and its many functions, line by line, to make sure he gets his way — on diversity, climate change, immigration and more."  The Republicans in the House and Senate dare not cross him.  He is also taking reprisals against his political enemies.
• I question many of his cabinet level appointments.  So far all of them were confirmed, but Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is obviously not qualified and is very controversial.
• Mayor Adams has been indicted on federal charges and will be on trial in April.  Will Donald Trump pardon him.
• Andrew Cuomo will likely run for mayor after he resigned as governor a few years ago when he was accused of sexual harassment.  Polls indicate he is the frontrunner.  I guess voters never learn.

Tears of a Clown by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles - Random Oldie of the Day

 

Here I go again.  I just opened up Joel Whitburn's Top Pop and landed on Tears of a Clown by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.

Amazin' Day at Citi Field Today

 

This time I'll post the pictures that I took at today event with a brief explanation

Lee and Bruce with Brett Baty - He gave up his #22 to Juan Soto and now is wearing #7

Lee with relief pitcher Sean Reid-Foley

Tyrone Taylor, Mark Vientos, Emily Reppert, Sean Manea, and Reed Garrett play a variant of the Newlywed Game

Steve Gelbs interviews Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling as they will begin their 20th year telecasting the Mets on SNY

Gary Cohen interviews Carlos Mendoza, David Stearns and Steve Cohen

Jon Niese and Matt Harvey talk about the 2015 Mets who were in the World Series

New Mets A.J. Minter, Clay Holmes and Frankie Montas meet their new fans

Mike Piazza, Keith Hernandez, Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry and David Wright whose numbers were retired speak to the fans.

Why Would Anyone Want to Murder a Distinguished Physician?

 

I read  Anthony Fauci's autobiography a few months ago, but in a nutshell he served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022, and the chief medical advisor to the president from 2021 to 2022.  He advised seven Presidents on HIV/AIDS, COVID-19 and many other domestic and global health issues. In my opinion he deserves the Nobel Prize for Medicine.

Sadly, he received death threats from crazy people who disagreed with the way he handled the COVID-19 pandemic.  Thus, former President Joe Biden provided security protection for him.  President Trump has just pulled his government supported security, but Dr. Fauci is now paying for it from his own pocket. Trump has also pulled government supported  security from former national security adviser John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

In his first week in office Trump has shown to be a vengeful person who is abusing his office to get back at his political enemies.  He let violent criminals out of jail, but he does not want to protect loyal government officials of the past.

Don't blame me.  I voted for Kamala Harris.

Saxophone Solo by Garth Hudson on It Makes No Difference Performed at the Last Waltz November 1976

 

The saxophone solo is at 5:30 closed to the end of this song.  The Band had a great influence on music even though they had few top 40 hits.  It is a shame that they are all gone.

Remembering Garth Hudson of the Band Featuring Chest Fever

 

Today we found out that Garth Hudson, the last surviving member of influential group The Band, passed away at age 87 in Woodstock, NY.  He was a multi-instrumentalist who played the organ, saxophone, accordion, synthesizers, trumpet, French horn, and violin.

I followed The Band since 1968 when I bought Music From Big Pink.  Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, and Levon Helm were the other members of the group.

Obituary in the New York Times.

My Thoughts on the Inauguration of Donald Trump

 

In my opinion Donald Trump belongs in jail not being inaugurated as president.  He was convicted of 34 counts of  falsifying business records.  Michael Cohen served jail time, but since Trump was elected president, he received an unconditional discharge.

Special Counsel Jack Smith concluded that Trump would have been convicted of his actions on January 6, 2021 when his followers stormed the Capitol to stop the certification of Joe Biden's election.  People died in that riot.  Why did this not come to trial three years ago?  There was also his actions in trying to change the results in Georgia and Arizona.  Justice delayed was justice denied to the American people who deserve an honest man in the White House.

He also took classified government documents to his home compromising the security of our nation.  Again, this did not come to trial.

In my opinion the 77 million people voted for him were duped by a con man.  He won the election fair and square, but 49.4% of the popular vote is not a mandate.

I pray that President Trump will abide by the constitution which provides a balance of power among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.  I hope that both Democrats and Republicans do the best for the American public and stand up to Trump if he violates the Constitution.

I feel badly for the immigrants who came to the United States to seek out a better life. If they did commit crimes in America, they should be deported, but law abiding immigrants should be allowed to stay.

Prayers for the United States of America.

Saturday Afternoon at Flushing Town Hall

 

Over the years I have posted my visits to Flushing Town Hall several times.  It is nice to have a concert venue within walking distance of home that features several genres of music.  Today's performance was described as a mini-global mashup featuring:

• DoYeon Kim, a virtuoso of the gayageum, the traditional Korean zither.
• Cooper-Moore, a visionary multi-instrumentalist renowned for his mastery of the diddley-bow, a one-stringed instrument rooted in African-American blues heritage. 
• Satoshi Takeishi, a drummer, percussionist, and arranger

It was an enjoyable afternoon.

Bob Uecker's Miller Lite Commercial

 

Bob Uecker passed away today at age 90. Major League Baseball posted a detailed obituary.   There is also a biography of him written by Eric Aron of SABR. He certainly did not distinguish himself as a backup catcher during his MLB career from 1962-67 as he batted only .200 for his career.  He is best known for his career as a broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers, but appeared on late-night TV, starred in a popular series of Miller Lite commercials, acted in the ABC sitcom “Mr. Belvedere” and in the “Major League” film trilogy.

I thought my readers would enjoy this Miller Lite commercial.

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do by Neil Sedaka (Slow Version)

 

I had to "break up" with a long-term male friend.  I will not go into the details here, but to make a long story short I will just say that when I needed a friend the most, he wasn't there for me.  Very often, moving on and letting go is for the best.

Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) Visit in January 2025

The last time I was at MOMA was in November 2023 so I thought it was time for a return visit on a cold Sunday afternoon.  Whenever I go to a museum, I always keep an eye out for paintings by Pablo Picasso, so you can see two above.

All over the museum there were short films.  I have come to the conclusion that none of these films make much sense.  I just watch them for an excuse to sit down for a few minutes.  MOMA is enormous and it is impossible to take in everything in one visit.  One can spend only a few seconds viewing a piece of art.

There was an exhibition devoted to the works of German artist Thomas Schutte. "Schütte’s work challenges established artistic norms by revitalizing genres rooted in past traditions and making them relevant in the present and for the future." (I am quoting MOMA's website)

• The Fifth Floor featured works from the 1880s - 1940s
• The Fourth Floor featured works form the 1950s - 1970s
• The Newest works were shown on the lower floors.

 

RIP Sam Moore

 

We are losing too many recording artists from the 1960s.  It was announced this week that Sam Moore of Sam and Dave fame passed away.  They appeared in 1969 on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1969 singing I Thank You.

Too Much of Nothing - My Favorite Peter, Paul, and Mary Hit

 I featured Too Much of Nothing in this Journal in 2006, but I only posted the lyrics, not the recording.  It wasn't a big hit as it reached only #67 in 1967 on the Billboard chart.

Below is the Bob Dylan version from the Basement Tapes.

Peter Yarrow (1938 - 2025)

 Today we heard the sad news that Peter Yarrow passed away at age 86.  I remember in the early 1980s I saw Peter, Paul, and Mary in concert in the early 1980s.  Obituary in the New York Times.  Since I have featured Blowin' in the Wind several time in this journal, I will show Peter, Paul, and Mary's version of Early Morning Rain.

Snowbird by Anne Murray - Random Oldie of the Day

 

I stuck my finger in Joel Whitburn's Top Pop book and it landed on Snowbird by Anne Murray.  We did get about 1 inch of snow today as NYC missed the brunt of a major snowstorm that hit south of us.  You never know from one year to the next how much snow we'll get.

St. Johns 70 Butler 62 at the Carnesecca Arena

 

It was nice to travel only 15 minutes by car from home to the Carnesecca Arena in Jamaica.  The Red Storm play some of their games on campus and some at Madison Square Garden.  The last time we saw a game on campus was in December 2015 when we saw St. John's beat NJIT.  That was about two years before I retired.  Instead of writing a recap of the game, I am posting highlights that I retrieved from YouTube.

Problems Don't Go Away When the Calendar Changes

 

There are problems in this world that just won't go away as we completed 2024 and are now in 2025.  There were terrible terrorist attacks in previous years and now we see situations in New Orleans and Las Vegas. We hear daily of shootings, stabbings, and assaults.  There are continuing problems in our local and federal governments:

• I have lost confidence in our mayor as he has been indicted on several series charges and several of his commissioners resigned while some were also indicted.  He is scheduled to go on trial in April.  What will happen if he is convicted?
• Our government is based on a systems of checks and balances among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.  Will Donald Trump respect that or will he become a quasi-dictator?  Will there be turmoil in his second term?
• There are terrible wars in Israel and Ukraine.  I don't believe that Donald Trump will end these conflicts.  Both have been going on much too long.

Prayers for the future of our city and country.

It is 500 Years Until the Year 2525

 

In the Year 2525 was a hit by Zager and Evans in 1969,  It hit #1 on the Billboard Chart, but the group never charted again.  According to Top Pop by Joel Whitburn they had a very minor hit later in 1969 called Mr. Turnkey that only reached #106.

Question - are they any One Hit Wonder Act when their only hit topped the charts?