Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Lee's Birthday/Jeopardy Test

It is hard to believe that Lee is 18 years old.  It seems like yesterday when we brought him home from the hospital.  On Sunday night Karen went into labor about 7 PM.  About midnight we went to Long Island Jewish Hospital and Lee was born at 7:30 AM on March 28, 1988.  He went from Barney the Dinosaur to Johnny Cash within a few short years.

In a previous blog entry I discussed how I have been a Jeopardy fan since the show's inception in 1964.  For the first time today, the test for being a contestant appeared on the Internet.  Of course I took the test after being too chicken to try to become a contestant for many years.  The test was difficult.  I don't think I'll be called for an interview to appear on the show.  It is very competitive.

 

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Took it easy this weekend

We just went to the movies to see She's the Man today.  Most of the movies these days are aimed at kinds anyway. Spent some time watching the NCAA mens basketball tournament.  Good games, but too many commercials.  I guess CBS has to make money.

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Lee picked the restaurant

Since Lee's birthday is this coming Tuesday, we decided to go ut to dinner tonight.  Lee wanted to go to Deli Masters in Fresh Meadows, one of the few kosher restaurants left in Queens.  He had two hot dogs, french fries, and apple juice.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Failure to Launch (movie)

Today we walked over to the local multiplex to see Failure to Launch with Matthew McConaughey (Tripp) and Sarah Jessica Parker (Paula).  To make a long story short, Tripp is a 35 year old bachelor who still lives at home with his parents who use Paula to try get him to move out.  I don't want to get into the details of the movie here.  All those years ago, my situation was the exact opposite.  I did everything I could to leave my parent's house.  Here is a mini-biography:

January 1972 - I was accepted as a graduate student at the University of Rhode Island.  I left home for the first time.

January 1974 - I completed my masters degree in Rhode Island, but I hadn't landed a professional position and was forced to move back home.  The next few months were hell for me.

May 1974 - I landed my first professional position as a chemist at Rhodia in New Brunswick, NJ.  As soon as I got the job offer, I took off and looked for an apartment nearby.

December 1976 - I left New Brunswick since I had accepted a position at Pfizer in Groton, CT.  I moved to an apartment in nearby New London.

September 1978 - things just didn't work out in Groton/New London and I had to move home with my parents.  I really hated it, but my days in CT were the nadir of my life.

June 1979 - I landed my first job as a library/information scientist with Schering Corporation.

January 1980 - moved into my own apartment in Queens.

October 1983 - got married.

Maybe some day, I'll write the long biography.

 

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Mini-Vacation today

Since NJIT is on Spring break this week I decided to take a vacation day while things were slow.  I went for a haircut in the morning.  From there I drove to Hempstead Lake State Park and walked in the wind.  On the way home, I stopped at Bens in Bayside and got my kosher pastrami sandwich for lunch.  After lunched I watched the DVD Masked and Anonymous with Bob Dylan.  Back to work tomorrow.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Purim Party at the Samuel Field Y

It rained on and off today.  We took Lee to the Purim Party at the Samuel Field Y where he worked with his after school group to help the younger kids play games.  Karen and I ate lunch at Scobee Diner on Northern Blvd and the Lttle Neck Parkway.

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Game 6 (The Movie)

Bruce, the Internet surfer, found references to a new movie call Game 6 about the 1986 World Series when the Mets beat the Boston Red Sox.  The movie came out this weekend but in limited release.  We had to take the subway to Times Square to see it at the AMC Empire 25 Multiplex.  I guess after a while I got tired of the College Point Multiplex even if it is within walking distance of home.  The protagonist of the movie, Nicky Rogan, played by Michael Keaton is a playwright whose show opens on October 25, 1986, the day of Game 6 of the World Series.  Rogan who is a diehard Red Sox fan wants to see his team win a world series.  He skips his opening and goes to a sports bar to watch the game on TV.  The highlight for me was seeing Mookie Wilson hit the ball that Bill Buckner at first base could not handle.  I always fantasized about playing a video of that inning while Pagebyrner was chained to a chair.  With that play, the Mets tied the series at 3-3 and eventually won game 7.

 

The movie was somewhat of a disappointment.  It was not nearly as good as the Red Sox movie Fever Pitch, a romantic comedy with Drew Barrymore.

Friday, March 10, 2006

A Bob Dylan Biopic is coming

Found out some good news by surfing the web looking for new Bob Dylan information. 

 Todd Haynes Helming I'm Not There

March 4, 2006



 

Writer-director Todd Haynes is moving forward with his star-studded unconventional biopic of the seminal songwriter Bob Dylan, reports Production Weekly. I'm Not There is designed to star upwards of a half-dozen prominent actors as the singer-songwriter, portraying different stages of his life and various humors of his nature.

Christian Bale, Catch Blanchett, Colin Farrell, Richard Gere, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Haynes regular Julianne Moore are among those attached.

The
film follows seven characters, each embodying a different aspect of Dylan's life story and music. It's the first biographical feature project to secure the approval of the pop culture icon.

Haynes is planning a summer start in Romania
.

If filming will not begin until this summer, the movie would not be out until 2007.  So 6 men and one woman will play Dylan at different points at his life.  This makes sense since ther is an Alias theme in many of Dylan's work.  He assumes the identity of other people.  In the forthcoming film, the tables are turned since other people assume the identity of Dylan.

Getting back to Internet radio, right now I am listening to http://www.bluebeat.com  I am listening to a channel called Dylan Undercover.  This stream plays covers of Dylan songs.  The stream must abide by the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) which restricts the number of songs by a single artist that an Internet stream can play.  By featuring Dylan covers this stream abides by the DCMA.

 


11:58 AM today

At 11:58 AM today I heard from the boss "Is there anything else for the good of the order?"  The answer is a resounding NO!!  This means two hours of listening to lunancy, hypocrisy, medicocrity and prejudice are over.  Regular reader of this blog will understand this quite well.

Monday, March 6, 2006

Bruce, the Internet Radio Enthusiast

In my January 1 entry I discussed my hobby as an over the air radio enthusiast.  Over the past few years Internet radio has grown by leaps and bounds.  I wrote every message to this blog listening to an Internet radio station.  There are several types of Internet radio stations:

1.  Over the air station - in this way a station is no longer localized.  A person in Boston can listen to a station from Seattle for example.

2.  Internet only station.  Many radio enthusiasts who can not break into the radio business can broadcast their own stations on the web.

3. XM radio.  I had been thinking for over years about subscribing to XM radio.  I was reluctant to pay money for a satellite radio plus $13/month.  I can get the music stations form XM through my AOL subscription.

Below is a copy of an article I wrote in December 2004 for Decalcomania, a newsletter for radio enthusiasts.  Since that time I have discovered more Internet radio stations.  Right now I am listnening to WJMK.com which is also available in Chicago on HD radio.  When the CBS radio Jackasses took over oldies at WJMK they brought the oldies format including some personalities to the HD stations which is also available on the Internet at http://wjmk.com.  Likewise in New York City WCBS-FM is now available on HD radio and on WCBSFM.com.  It is just not the same without the radio personalities who graced the station for 33 years.

Music of Your Life – http://www.musicofyourlife.com  - There are many broadcast stations that carry this format, but none in New York City.  This a change of pace for me.

 

 WXPK – The Peak - http://www.1071thepeak.com/listen/index.php  This AAA station is in Westchester County about 30 miles north of  my home.  I can barely pick it up even on my car radio.  They play some classic rock with current album cuts.

 

WUSN - Chicago – America’s Country Station -  Since there is no country radio station in NYC, I need to go to web to get my weekly dosage of country.  I use Radio@AOL to access it.

 

WLNG – http://www.wlng.com  From Sag Harbor Long Island.  A good blend of oldies.  I don’t have to trade for airchecks of it any longer.

 

WLBU- Santa Fe New Mexico - http://www.blu1029.com/  I am listening to this while I am composing this article.  The music format on blu 102.9 FM has never before been heard as a full-time radio format in the US. Originating on the beaches in Café del Mar on the Spanish island of Ibiza, the musical genre we call blu, sometimes referred to as Chill, has been a European phenomenon in the adult club scene." blu has its roots in pop, dance, electronica, smooth jazz and world music.  I really hope this format grows.  It is very hard to turn it off.  WQCD (CD101.9) in New York plays some of this music.

 

WRLL – Chicago - http://realoldies1690.com/main.html  Plays mostly 1950s – 60s oldies.  There are move AM stations adopting this format.  WMTR – Morristown and WPEN – Philadelphia come to mind.  Mainstream FM oldies stations like WCBS-FM have deemphasized this era of music.

 

Superoldies - http://www.superoldies.com/main.html  . The  current library boasts approx. 12,000 songs from over 3600 artists.  The time frame is 1955 – 1969.  I have listened to oldies stations for many years and find songs here that I have never heard.  You will not hear burnouts like Happy Together", "I'm A Believer", "Baby Love",  "Sweet Caroline",  "Satisfaction", "Twist & Shout" & "Big Girls Don't Cry"

 

Capital Gold - http://www.capitalgold.com/  - This is a British oldies station with an American accent.  It is similar in scope to WCBS-FM

 

My Generation - http://www.my-generation.org.uk/  Gary Jackson is the DJ.  I remember back in 1966 the late Scott Muni played British hits on WOR-FM that did not chart in the USA.  Gary plays those on http://www.live365.com/stations/278851  He knows his British 60s oldies.

 

Mr. Aircheck Radio - http://www.live365.com/stations/mraircheck4159  Russ Horton, I believe a former Decalcomaniac, plays classic airchecks.  Other sources for airchecks on the web include http://www.reelradio.com , http://mp3airchecks.com , http://www.airchexx.com , http://northeastairchecks.com/, and http://www.bigappleairchecks.com

 

BBC Radio 2 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/  - It is online live, but I listen to the archived show Sounds of the Sixties that changes weekly. Brian Matthew is the host. Many shows are archived.

 

Blue Beat – http://www.bluebeat.com  - This service has absolutely everything and the quality is excellent.  They have streams playing, blues, classical, country, folk, oldies.  You name it and they’ve got it.  They claim they offer 400,000 tracks and 320 channels of pure listening pleasure.

 

Boomerradio – http://www.boomerradio.com  This service appeals to baby boomers as its name implies.  There are four channels;  Acoustic Café, Smooth Jazz, Sweet Soul Music, and ClassicMix.

 

WFUV – 90.7 FM in NYC or http://wfuv.org -  Fordham University’s station has a Folk Music/Americana format.  I can get it over the air from my home, but I like the web stream to hear archived shows like Pete Fornatale’s Mixed Bag..

 

WBGO – 88.3 FM from Newark, NJ – Traditional Jazz station.  The reception of this station is fuzzy at home, so I like to access the web stream.

 

 

Sunday, March 5, 2006

NYCAC Tournament Final

NYCAC stands for the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference in NCAA Division II.  Schools in the conference include Queens College and C.W. Post.  Over the course of the season why have gone to several conference games since the admission is only $5 which is much less than having to pay $45 to sit in the stratosophere at Madision Square Garden to see a team with a $125 million payroll lose 70% of their games.  Today we arrived at the Pratt Center of C.W. Post on Long Island at about 1 PM to see the second half of the Women's final.  The University of New Haven defeated C.W. Post 64-50.  In the men's final Adelphi beat the University of Bridgeport 74-62.  After the game we went to Ben's Deli in Greenvale where I ate my corned beef and pastrami.

Saturday, March 4, 2006

Movie Day

It was cold and windy this morning so I didn't go to the park with Lee to shoot baskets.  Instead we went to the Barnes and Nobles in Bayside to buy some baseball statistics books for the fortcoming season.  In the early after we went to the College Point Multiplex to see 16 Blocks with Bruce Willis.  In the early evening we watched a DVD of the original Pink Panther movies with Peter Sellers and David Niven.  A few weeks ago we saw the remake starring Steve Martin.
 
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