Thank You WBGO for Playing Ben Sidran

When I arrive at work in the morning I must follow a ritual. When I get in I turn on my computer and get my coffee. By the time I return to my desk the computer has booted up. I usually alternate between WFUV and WBGO, my two favorite not for profit radio stations. Today it was turn to access WBGO. At about 8:45 I heard a jazz version of Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited. The DJ, Gary Walker, identified the artist as Ben Sidran. I immediately used my research skills and was pleasantly surprised to find that this cut was part of a Dylan cover CD called Dylan Different. A few minutes later I found out that it was available at Itunes for $9.99. So I just completed downloading it. When I come home from work tomorrow night, it goes on the CD player. I am sure that Lee will like it since it includes his favorite Dylan song, Tangled Up in Blue.

Dylan's songs have been covered in numerous genres of music. Many covers are scattered throught CDs but I have collected many CDs devoted to Dylan covers. This is the first jazz cover collection that I now own.

Thank you so much WBGO for bringing this to my attention. I like the non-profit stations because they have almost unlimited playlists and are not concerned with an aging audience. Older listeners have the money to donate to them. When the next WBGO fundraising drive begins, I will pick up the phone and make a pledge and I hope my other radio friends will do as well. I am also generous each year in donating to WFUV.

My Top 10 Facebook Friends of 2010

A few days ago I commented on my top 10 Facebook followers of 2010. Today I received my list of top 10 Facebook friends. Some people were on both lists, I will only comment on those who were unique to this second list:



#1:Alan Berman - how can he not be #1 when I appointed him The Distinguished Professor of Oldies Radio and then promoted to Dean. Do I hear my phone ringing?


#2:Patrick J Guice - I must say this man has excellent taste in radio shows.


#3:Mary Hennessy Shaw


#4:Victor Monachelli


#5:Joel Glassman


#6:Clay Cole - it is indeed an honor for him to be #6 on my list. I had the pleasure of meeting him at the recent Beatexpo in Stamford. CT. I recommend everyone reading my journal also read his new book Shboom the Explosion of Rock N Roll 1953-68. I wrote a review of this book in the December 17, 2009 entry of this journal

#7:Broadway Bill Lee - another pleasant surprise. I met Bill at the Oldies Meet and Greet in December 2008 and the WCBS-FM picnic in August 2009

#8:Linda Silverberg Cohen

#9:Alan Seltzer

#10:Joe Viel - He was my fraternity brother at City College of New York. He introduced me to beer all those years ago.

Back to Work Tomorrow

It is back to work tommorow after a 10 day break. This is one of the good things about working for a university. When I worked in the for-profit sector there was much less time off for vacation or holidays. Whenever I wake up in the morning on a work day I am always grateful that there is a job out there for me. I must recall the days when I was unemployed and the pain that I endured all those years ago. 1982 was the last time that I was jobless.

My best wishes to anyone reading this journal who is seeking employment.

Hofstra Basketball Today

We saw our first basketball game of the season as the Hofstra Pride lost to the Tribe of William & Mary 48-47. The Pride started out by scoring 9 unanswered points, but it was downhill from there. I thought it was one of most poorly played college games that I have seen recently with poor execution and lack of good fundamental skills. Hofstra's shooting percentage was only 31.5. Game Recap.

My Top 10 Followers on Facebook - Some Surprises

Bruce 's Top Followers on Facebook
1) Gerry McKiernan - he is a science librarian at Iowa State. I have observed his postings on many listseves over the years. I am sure he has read many of mine, but we have never met.

2) Joel Glassman - My old buddy from my undergraduate days at City College of New York. He moved to North Carolina over 30 years ago. I haven't seen him in over 35 years

3) Victor Monachelli - the first radio enthusiast I met about 15 years ago on Prodigy. He lives in Florida now, but I met him in 1995 in Yonkers

4) Patrick J Guice - fellow radio enthusiast. I have met him at gatherings of oldies enthusiasts

5) Ellen Burden Parker - librarian at Atlantic Cape County College in New Jersey. We meet once a year at a professional meeting. I'll likely see her on January 8th. She is also a radio enthusiast

6) Amy Auerbach - oldies enthusiast. We have meet a few times at gatherings of oldies enthuiasts

7) Mary Hennessy Shaw - one of NYC's greatest listeners of oldies radios. We have met several times at "Meets and Greets"

8) Stu Dolgon - I met him on the WCBS-FM message board on AOL years ago. He lives in central NJ, but roots for the New York Rangers

9) Ron Gitschier - fellow radio enthusiast living in Florida. Several years ago he was in the Navy and was in NYC for fleet meet. We met for some drinks at a restaurant in Queens

10) Alan Seltzer - fellow radio enthusiast whom I've met a few times at gatherings.

Thanks to all of you for dropping by.

Some observations:

I have met 8 of the 10 of my top followers. 5 of those 8 I have encountered within the last year. The biggest surprise was who was not on the list.

1. The Dean of Oldies listeners. He knows who he is. But he is by far #1 on accessing me through telephone.
2. The Oldies Diva

None of my NJIT colleagues made the list.

My sister did not make it either. I guess she is not spying on me.

Congratulations Nate Robinson

Last night the New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 112-108 in overtime with Nate Robinson scoring 41 points. On the surface this is not extraordinary, but Nate was benched unfairly for 13 games by coach Mike D'Antoni. Why should a talented player making millions of dollars sit on the bench? The Knicks are still recovering from the managerial and coaching failures of Isiah Thomas. I am not thrilled with the coaching of Mike D'Antoni. For several games only 8 players were used. What is the sense of doing that when there are 12 players on the roster. This will certainly tire out those 8, while the skills of the bench warmers could erode. Nate Robinson certainly stood up to the poor coaching by scoring 41 points in his return. Perhaps the Knicks would have won a few more games during Nate's absence. A former colleague told me years ago that one's best revenge is success.

There are parallel situations in the business world when employees often suffer from poor and ineffectual management.

There should be more NHL games played outdoors

For the third New Year's Day in a row there is an NHL game played in an outdoor stadium. You can see the photo above of a hockey rink in Fenway Park as the Bruins played the Philadelphia Flyers today. I watched most of the game as the Bruins won 2-1 in overtime. In 2008 the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium while Wrigley Field was the 2009 venue as the Chicago Black Hawks hosted the Detroit Red Wings.

These 3 games generated much interest among casual hockey fans. Many people traveled from Philadelphia to Boston to see today's game. The television ratings were very high as well. I am really hoping there will be hockey games at Citifield, Yankee Stadium and the new football stadium in the Meadowlands. I would likely want to get tickets.