All You Need is Love by the Beatles - Oldie of the Day

 

I just heard this on Sounds of the Sixties hosted by Tony Blackburn on BBC2.

Military Madness by Graham Nash - Another Song Appropriate for the Events of Today

 

Although this song was written about World War II, the sentiments apply to the situation today.

In an upstairs room in Blackpool

By the side of a northern sea

The army had my father

And my mother was having me

Military Madness was killing my country

Solitary Sadness comes over me

After the school was over and I moved

To the other side

I found a different country but I never

Lost my pride

Military Madness was killing the country

Solitary sadness creeps over me

And after the wars are over

And the body count is finally filed

I hope that The Man discovers

What's driving the people wild

Military madness is killing your country

So much sadness, between you and me

War, War, War, War, War, War

War, what is it Good For? Absolutely Nothing

 

This oldie sung by Edwin Starr says it all.  What is Putin trying to prove?  It will be a terrible event when Russian soldiers kill civilians.  Prayers for Ukraine.

Song for 2-22-22: Love Me Two Times by the Doors

 

I guess there are many songs with two in the title.  My selection was random.

Random Thoughts on President's Weekend

 

One of these days I will have to inventory my Facebook friends and eliminate some.  I saw that I have 615 of them and wondered why I friended many of them.  In most cases, there was a mutual interest such as radio, baseball, oldies, or Dylan.

It was announced that MLB and MLBPA will meet regularly starting this week.  Why didn't they meet at all from early December to the middle of January?  Will they come to an agreement so that the season can start on time?  Likely spring training is too long and can be compressed.

This morning it was reported that Queen Elizabeth was COVID positive.  She showed very mild symptoms, but she is 95 years old.

I remember that NJIT was always open on President's Day.  I always took it as a vacation day since all the trains were on a weekend schedule.  I do not miss that miserable long commute from Flushing to Newark.

Did Bruce's Journal Really Get 1,000,000 Page Views?

 

Bruce's Journal is run by a program called Blogger that is a product of Google.  It provides me with statistics on how many people hit this journal.  It states that I have about 1,000,000 page views.  I question if this is an accurate number.  For the last 30 days, 30% or 3,170 hits were from France.  I don't know anybody in France.  In other months there were significant hits from Indonesia.

I suspect that a large percentage of hits were from robots.

Anyway, I thank the people who read my journal.

A Year Later I Still Feel the Pain of Karen's Passing

 

Karen on Mother's Day 2011

It is a year ago today that my beloved wife Karen passed away at age 65.  I still feel the pain of her loss. I have flashbacks to that night when she refused to go to sleep and insisted on sitting on the living room couch.  I woke up at about 2 AM and found her unresponsive.  I immediately called 911.  The medics came and determined she had passed away.  The police came and were especially kind and stayed until the funeral home came.

 My biggest burden has been to become a father and mother to my son Lee who needs a lot of attention.  I had to face legal issues because of her passing.  Household tasks such as food shopping and laundry now fall to me.  I am saddened when I see an empty chair at the dinner table.

Over the past year, I have taken life one day at a time and confronted issues as they come up.  I attended a bereavement group at Commonpoint Queens for a while.  The social worker stated that everyone should wait a year before making important decisions.  The thought of going back to dating and possibly remarrying has crossed my mind over the past year. At this point, I just don’t want to do it as I recall my bad experiences with dating in the 1970s.  I had plenty of dates that didn’t work out.  In any event, interpersonal relationships take time to develop.

Life goes on as I move forward.  I will never forget Karen and the 37 years of our marriage.

Crazy Dreams about My Former Colleagues

 

We can never control what we dream.  Very often we completely forget them or only remember parts of them.  Here are some of the dreams I do remember.  Most of them don't make sense.  I am careful not to mention any names.

We used to kid DS, former Director of Reference, about her lack of knowledge of sports.  I had a dream about escorting her to a basketball game on campus.  I had another dream about accompanying her to an information class.  That did make sense.

I saw RS, the late University Librarian, sitting at the reference desk playing poker with some students.  I had another dream when he drove people home after working late.

I had a dream when AH, the current University Librarian, closed all the restrooms for no reason.

In a recent dream, I attended a gathering of former employees.  I was talking to MB, the Red Sox fan, when DJ, the former Assistant University Librarian walked in.

I phoned HS, my former reference colleague, to say I would arrive late.  When I arrived, she was talking to JR, now at NYU, who presented her with a list of students who evaded the fare on the Light Rail near campus.

Is there anything else for the good of the order?

Jimi Hendrix Tribute Band at Flushing Town Hall

 

Jimy Bleu as Jimi Hendrix

We certainly can't see a concert by a deceased recording artist, but there are always tribute bands.  It is hard to believe that Jimi passed away over 50 years ago.   Last night Lee and I went to Flushing Town Hall to see Jimy Bleu, Moby Medina, and Ted Edwards emulate the Jimi Hendrix Experience.  They played many of his well-known songs including:

• Purple Haze
• Are Your Experienced
• Foxy Lady
• Are You Experienced?
• Stone Free

They did an excellent job at playing those songs. Most of the members of the audience were baby boomers like myself who listened to Jimi while he was still living. 

Still Missing Mom after 7 Years

Mother's Day 2011

It was 7 years ago today that I lost my mother, Libby Slutsky, who lived to the ripe old age of 95.  I still miss her after all these years.  I am always grateful that she was blessed with a long life.

 

States are Dropping Mask Mandates; Let's Not Jump for Joy

 

The New York Times reports "Gov. Kathy Hochul will drop New York’s stringent indoor mask mandate on Wednesday, ending a requirement that businesses ask customers for proof of full vaccination or require mask wearing at all times, and marking a turning point in the state’s coronavirus response, according to three people briefed on her decision."  Other states have ended their respective mask mandates.

I especially hate wearing masks in the winter since they make my eyeglasses fog up as I walk in the street.  I don't want to catch the dreaded COVID-19.  In recent weeks the number of cases has dropped dramatically.  I don't think this means that the pandemic is approaching its end.  There have been ups and downs in the number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths over the two years of this pandemic.  Nobody knows if there will be future variants that will cause new cases of COVID-19.  I doubt that the pandemic will ever come to an abrupt end.

Although the cases have diminished recently, we should jump for joy thinking the pandemic is approaching its end.

Rare Video of Bob Dylan with Richard Manuel of the Band in Woodstock in Winter 1967

 

I found this on the Richard Manuel Archive on Twitter.  

Random Thoughts of the Day

 

It is almost certain that spring training will be delayed.  It is also possible that the baseball season will be shortened.  I guess both the players and owners are equally guilty.  It is a lose-lose situation.

I read an article in the New York Times about a teacher who lost her job over something she wrote in her blog.  This woman is going to court arguing that what she wrote was done outside of work. I have learned from experience that I should be careful about what I post since anybody can read it.  I have political opinions, but I won't post them here.  

I posted my email address on the front page of this blog, but nobody has contacted me.  I guess people want to be anonymous when they surf the web.

I am currently reading Morgan, B. (2007). I celebrate myself: The somewhat private life of Allen Ginsberg. London: Penguin. - I didn't know that he was a classmate of Jack Kerouac at Columbia University.

Can Mediation Help End the Lockout in Major League Baseball?

 

Evan Drellich of The Athletics states:

"As one player agent surmised, Major League Baseball’s push for federal mediation in collective bargaining talks is a “win-win” for the commissioner’s office, even if MLB knows the players are unlikely to sign on for the process."

As of now, the players union has declined to comment on this plan.

It appears that barring something extraordinary spring training will be delayed.  This is a lose-lose situation especially since tourism in Florida and Arizona will suffer.  If the regular season is delayed many fans will lose interest as attendance will decline.

Hey guys - come to your senses and come to a settlement.

February 3, 1959 - The Day the Music Died

 

04 Feb 1959, Wed Daily News (New York, New York) Newspapers.com
Nobody knows what music Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, or J.P Richardson would have made had they lived.

Two of Us by The Beatles - Perfect Song for 2-2-22

 

There were several rehearsals of this song in the video Get Back that was recently released.