Spotlight on Lloyd Price

Cousin Brucie interviewed Lloyd Price on his show tonight.  He is now 84 years old and is going strong.  He will be playing later this week at the Cutting Room in Manhattan.

Bob Dylan Receives Grammy Nomination for Triplicate

It was announced today that Bob Dylan for Best Traditional Pop Album for Triplicate.  I must be honest by saying that Triplicate is not my favorite Dylan album since he did not write the songs for it. Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and others are much better singers of the adult standards that he has on that 3 album set.  In any event in his career, he has been nominated for 38 Grammys and won 10 times.

My New Hi-Tech Toy is An Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8 Tablet

I guess I did my part in making Jeff Bezos a multi-billionaire by purchasing a Kindle Fire HD8 Tablet.  Back in June 2012, I bought the first generation Kindle Fire to supplement my laptop.  I still have that tablet which is still working but felt that after 5 years I needed to upgrade.  This new model is much faster and even includes Alexa which I also have on the Amazon Echo.  I think the Kindle Fire is much less expensive than an iPad and serves the same purpose.

Afternoon of college basketball at Barclays Center

We usually go to several college basketball games every year as the ticket prices are much lower than those of professional basketball.  Today there was a doubleheader featuring Brigham Young (BYU) vs U Mass in game 1 and Minnesota vs Alabama in game 2.  Our plan was to see game 1 and leave at halftime of game 2.  It is just too long to sit through two games.

U Mass held a comfortable lead for most of the game but BYU rallied in the second half and won with a dunk by Yoeli Childs.

Game Recap

We left the second game with U Mass leading Alabama 41-29 at halftime.  However, we missed all the excitement late in the game.  As a result of a scuffle 7 Alabama players were ejected leaving the team with only 5 players. One other player fouled out while another had to leave after an injury.  This left 3 Alabama players against 5 for Minnesota.  The final score was 89-84 in favor of Minnesota.

Game Recap

Wheel of Fortune and Petula Clark at the Paley Center Today

We went to the Paley Center for Media today to see a special exhibit for the 35th anniversary of the syndicated version of the show.  The exhibit featured photos, memorabilia, videos, and more.  There was a video featuring versions of the show in 45 countries.

From there we went to the library where we saw a recording of an interview with Pat Sajak, Vanna White and others that was done early this month at the Paley Center.  They spoke of the history of the show including some strange occurrences.

In December we will be seeing a performance by Petula Clark at BB Kings.  I searched their database on her and found a classic program when Petula Clark and Harry Belafonte reunited for the fortieth anniversary of the 1968 variety show that sparked a racial controversy.  We even saw that show that was seen on NBC in 1968.

I must say that the Paley Center is a treasure.  Once I retire in January I will have more opportunities to sample radio and TV shows in their collection.  Since I am a member, I can do that for up to 3 hours.

The Pizza Came Late For The Focus Group and I Was Nailed on My Performance Appraisal

I am writing this entry at the suggestion of Laura Nygard, sports fan extraordinaire.  A focus group is a management tool which elicits feedback from the consumers of a product or service.  A small group is recruited and is asked questions from a moderator. The session is recorded for future reference.  I feel that this method has minimal effectiveness since a small number is not a representative sample of the population of users

Let’s turn the clock back to 1996 when the library manager wanted to run focus groups to determine what issues are bothering our users.  He wanted groups of undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty.  I volunteered to coordinate this effort.

To get students to participate, we offered a free lunch.  I could not anticipate how difficult it would be to recruit students for this effort.  I sent out mass emails and tried to recruit people face to face, but they just did not want to be bothered.  It was minutes before the session was to begin and I was still trying to recruit students.  Meanwhile, the person from the dining services delivered the pizza to the wrong side of the building.  The focus group had started without the food.  The boss came in and went into a rage over this.  We finally located the food in another part of the building and brought it over.

The boss trashed me in front of other people which was completely unfair to me in any event.  The person who delivered the pizza to the wrong room should have been reprimanded.  My boss had a very good memory and nailed me on my performance appraisal several months later.  His performance review sessions were traumatic experiences.  At least he didn’t fire me.

The boss took the tape from the focus group and played it on his car radio on the way home.  Some people listen to rock, others jazz, but the micromanager listened to focus group recordings.

Random Comments Regarding Retirement

Today I shredded all my performance appraisals over the past 25 years. This includes the one where my boss trashed me since the food came late for the focus group. That is a legend in the NJIT Library.

If you are reading this blog entry, you are welcome to come to my retirement party on December 7.  I certainly hope Mr. Met shows up

Anyway, there is exactly one month to go until my last day on December 22.

Topsy Part 2 by Cozy Cole - Oldie of the Day

Since we have the Amazon Echo, I use a feature where I say "Alexa, play Billboard Top Hits of a Year."  Today, I picked 1958.  One of the songs that came up was Topsy Par 2 by Cozy Cole.

Documentary about the Early Bob Dylan

I found this documentary on Facebook.  It runs about 1 hour and gives some new insights about Dylan, the folk singer from 1962-64.  I'll keep it here for later reference.

New York Radio - Changes and Speculation

The deal with Entercom taking over the CBS owned radio stations will be completed tomorrow.  It was not necessary to sell any NYC stations but there is some speculation about changes:

• 92.3 AMP which is a contemporary hit station will flip to Alternative Rock.  It is possible that this would happen.
• 1010 WINS will move to FM as speculated by some message board posters.  There are some FM news stations in other markets, but I doubt it will happen in NYC.  WINS is doing very well, so if it is not broken, don't fix it.  If WINS is moved to FM a revenue stream would be lost.

WFAN has made some changes:

• Gregg Giannotti will assume the morning co-host spot next to Boomer Esiason
• After Mike Francesa leaves the station, Chris Carlin, Bart Scott, and Maggie Gray will take over the afternoon slot from 2-630pm.

Some changes in HD Radio

• 103.5 HD2 is now a Taylor Swift station.  I sense that this is temporary
• 104.3 HD3 is playing alternative rock.

Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by the Hombres - Oldie of the Day

I just heard on on Cousin Brucie's show.

Church Bells May Ring by the Willows Featuring Tony Middleton

Tony Middleton, a member of the group, was one of the guests at the recent Oldies Meet & Greet.  He didn't sing at the event but answered questions from his fans.

The 2017 Oldies Meet and Greet was a Little Different

Dominick Safuto of

Randy and the Rainbows

In many of the previous  Oldies Meet and Greet the guests were radio personalities from stations such as WCBS-FM and Q-104.3.  They have included Bobby Jay, Pat St. John, Ken Dashow, Carol Miller, and Jim Kerr.  This year the guests were recording artists from the 50s and 60s.  Above is Dominick Safuto who is Randy of Randy and the Rainbows whos biggest hit was Denise.  A surprise guest was Lillian of the Exciters.  She sang the group's big hit Tell Him for the group.

Tony Middleton of the Willows who charted with Church Bells May Ring also appeared.

Mary Shaw who is Ms. Radio

according to Cousin Bruce Morrow

Dedication of the Wellness and Event Center at NJIT

About 10 years ago NJIT moved into NCAA Division I sports.  However, the athletic facility was small and outdated.  It took some years to get funding from the state of New Jersey to build a state of the art facility that was suitable for Division I sports.  The groundbreaking was two years ago and finally, the facility called the Wellness and Event Center (WEC) opened today.  There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony with speeches by elected officials, alumni, Athletic Director Lenny Kaplan and President Joel Bloom among others.  We were then given a tour of the WEC which is more than a basketball arena.  It is some facility.  Congratulations are in order for all those involved in the planning and construction of it.

Bob Dylan at the Nassau Coliseum

Dylan has pretty much used the same setlist as he has done on this leg of the Never Ending Tour.  Last night’s concert at the renovated Nassau Coliseum was no exception. Dylan did not play the guitar or the harmonica which was a disappointment to me.  He played piano on the songs that he wrote, but stood up and sang for the adult standards.  He did not talk to the audience even to introduce his backup musicians.  I was intrigued by a new version of Tangled Up in Blue.  He will return to NYC for a 5-night gig at the Beacon Theater later this month.  I read in the fanzine Isis that the tour will resume in April 2018 in Italy.  Hopefully, the tour will come back to NYC in 2018.

The setlist was recorded in Bill Pagel's Boblinks Page

Uniondale, New York Nassau Veterans Memorial ColiseumNovember 8, 2017

1.	Things Have Changed (Bob on piano, Donnie on pedal steel)
2.	It Ain't Me, Babe (Bob on piano, Donnie on pedal steel)
3.	Highway 61 Revisited (Bob on piano, Donnie on lap steel)
4.	Why Try To Change Me Now (Bob center stage, Donnie on pedal steel, Tony on standup bass)
5.	Summer Days (Bob on piano, Donnie on violin, Stu on acoustic guitar)
6.	Melancholy Mood (Bob on center stage, Donnie on pedal steel, Tony on standup bass)
7.	Honest With Me (Bob on piano, Donnie on pedal steel)
8.	Tryin' To Get To Heaven (Bob on piano, Donnie on pedal steel)
9.	Once Upon A Time (Bob on center stage, Donnie on pedal steel, Tony on standup bass)
10.	Pay In Blood (Bob on piano, Donnie on pedal steel, Stu on acoustic guitar)
11.	Tangled Up In Blue (Bob on piano, Donnie on pedal steel)
12.	September Of My Years (Bob center stage, Donnie on pedal steel, Tony on standup bass)
13.	Early Roman Kings (Bob on piano, Donnie on lap steel, Stu on acoustic guitar, Tony on standup bass)
14.	Soon After Midnight (Bob on piano, Donnie on pedal steel, Stu on acoustic guitar)
15.	Desolation Row (Bob on piano, Donnie on electric mandolin, Tony on standup bass)
16.	Thunder On The Mountain (Bob on piano, Donnie on electric mandolin)
17.	Autumn Leaves (Bob on center stage, Donnie on pedal steel, Tony on standup bass)
18.	Love Sick (Bob on piano, Donnie on pedal steel)
	(encore)
19.	Blowin' In The Wind (Bob on piano, Donnie on violin, Stu on acoustic guitar, Tony on standup bass)
20.	Ballad Of A Thin Man (Bob on piano, Donnie on lap steel)

Getting Ready for the Dylan Concert at Nassau Coliseum Tonight

I decided to take a vacation day to rest up before going to the concert at Nassau Coliseum tonight.  Back in 2006, we saw Dylan there,  I remember picking up Lee at the Samuel Field Y and continuing on to Uniondale.  Since then I was there for a few Islander games, but tonight I am going there for the first time since the arena was renovated.  Since the Islanders are gone, I think it is used mostly for concerts.

Last night I received an email from Ticketmaster reminding me of the concert and telling me about parking.  It is $30 to pay for parking at the gate, but if I order it online I would only have to pay $20.  Either way, it is very expensive to park, but it would be very difficult to get there by public transportation.

Last night as I was watching the Knick game, the camera showed Mavis Staples in the stands.  She is the opening act tonight.  I wonder what Dylan was doing last night.

Random Thoughts of the Day

The Tournament of Champions started on Jeopardy today with 15 excellent players vying for the $250,000 top prize.  Today Buzzy Cohen, one of my favorite contestants of the year, was the winner.  Hopefully, he'll play against Austin Rogers in the final round.  Maybe it's time for a super tournament featuring Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter and other big winners.

I received a postcard from the Mets today for a pre-sale for 2018 single game tickets.  I went online and saw that there was still a $5/ticket fee.  So what is the sense of buying so far in advance?  If they waived the fee, I would buy tickets.  With the exception of opening day and the 3 games against the Yankees tickets should be available on the day of the game.  The smallest ticket plan is for 20 games which is too much for me.

How many times does there have to be a report of a mass shooting?  A Terrorist attack such as the one in lower Manhattan is politically motivated.  There are just too many nuts getting their hands on guns and killing innocent people.  What is the solution?

LIU Post 49 Merrimack College 7

We drove out to Brookville, Long Island for the last time this season to see college football.  It is certainly much more inexpensive than going to Met Life Stadium to see the Giants or Jets.  It was a one-sided game as LIU Post trounced the visitors 49-7.  The game was marred by too many penalties, but I guess inexperienced players will make mistakes.  In the first period, Post faked a point after kick and ran for the 2 point conversion.

Box Score

Girl from the North Country, Trouble No More and the Social Security Office

This will be an eventful week for this Bob Dylan fan.  I was finally able to get a hold of the cast album of the show Girl From the North Country that is playing now in London.  It is based on several love songs written by Dylan.  Hopefully, it will make its way across the ocean and appear on Broadway.

Today was the release date of Trouble No More a boxed set of recordings from Dylan's born-again period (1978-81).  It consists of 8 CDs and 1 DVD which represents a controversial period in Dylan's career.  Gotta Serve Somebody is my favorite song of this period.  Thanks to Amazon.com for delivering these CDs in a timely manner.  Years ago I would have to run around looking for a record store that had it.

Hopefully, I will get "trouble no more" from the Social Security Office.  For some strange reason, they want Karen and Lee to come to their office.  I don't understand that as they don't have anything to do with my claim for Social Security benefits.  Hey, I paid into the system for over 40 years, and now I want to get it back.

Dad and Uncle Ben's 100th Birthday

Ben (left) and Irving Slutsky 1930

My sister Joyce posted this photo on her Facebook page today which would have been the 100th birthday of my Dad, Irving, and his twin brother Ben.  We still miss both of them over 20 years after they passed away.  A Bar Mitzvah is a very special occasion in the life of any Jewish family and I am glad that this photo was preserved.