When I Don't Listen to the Beatles or Dylan I Read About Them

Dennis Mitchell on his syndicated radio show Breakfast with the Beatles often interviews authors of Beatle books.  Some months ago he interviewed Robert Rodriguez, the author of Solo in the 70s: John, Paul, George, Ringo 1970 - 1980.  So much have been written about the Beatles in the 60s when they were together, but relatively little is available on their solo careers.  The book piqued my interest so I bought it for my Kindle Fire.  In my opinion George Harrison gained the most by the breakup of the Fab Four.  I am in the middle of it now.

There have been tons of biographies of Bob Dylan written over the years.  Dylan is a very private person who rarely does interviews.  The newest biography which was released today is called Another Side of Bob Dylan.  It was written by Victor Maymudes, a confidant of Dylan.  Since Victor died years ago his son has written the book.  I just downloaded it, but have to find the time to read it.

Who Wants to be a Millionaire - New Season with Changes

After many years of being shown at 12:30 PM on Channel 7 the show was moved to 2 PM.  So many times Millionaire was pre-empted when the 12 noon news was expanded since there was a major event.  Secondlym Terry Crews is the new host succeeding Cedric the Entertainer.  Did Cedric quit or was his contract not renewed by the producers of the show?  I guess we'll never know.  In any event my favorite host was Regis Philbin.

There is a new lifeline called +1 replacing one of the jumps.  The contestant has a friend in the audience that he/she can ask to come over to assist.  It replaces the original phone-a-friend.  The problem with that lifeline was that the friend at home can have a computer and Google to find the answer within 30 seconds.

I thought that Jeopardy would start its season today, but there was a rerun of a kids tournament.  I assume new shows will be aired starting next Monday.

Donation to the Lustgarden Foundation in Memory of Dad

My Dad, Irving Slutsky, died 17 years ago of pancreatic cancer.  He lived for 2 years after he was diagnosed with it.  I will be lighting a yahrzeit candle in his memory tonight.  I made a donation to the Lustgarden Foundation in his memory.  Hopefully, some day there will be a cure for pancreatic cancer.

Got Tickets for Bob Dylan at the Beacon Theater on November 29

When the Never Ending Tour comes to NYC, I have to be there, of course.  The tickets for 4 shows at the Beacon Theater went on sale today at 10 AM.  I was online at ticketmaster.com and was able to get 3 tickets for the show on Saturday night November 29.  These tickets were very expensive, but I guess Mr. Zimmerman needs the money. Of course, there is a big Ticketmaster fee, but this time there is no way of getting around it.  Let's hope he puts on a good show as the 2014 leg of the Never Ending Tour comes to a close in NYC.

Happy 95th Birthday Mom

Since Mom was born in Europe in 1919, the exact date of her birth was never recorded.  She knew it was before Rosh Hashana, so we always celebrate it on September 4th.  Happy Birthday Mom!

Random Comments of the Day

WCBS-FM is #1 in the Arbitron ratings for the second month in a row.  It seem that Scott Shannon has brought many listeners to the station from WPLJ and possibly other stations.  Those people apparently stay with the station later in the day.  I listen to WCBS-FM less as I don't like Scott Shannon's style and  hear that CBS-FM plays much less 1960s hits.  Since I am 65 years old they don't want me anyway.

Thank goodness for caller ID.  Whenever I see a phone number that I don't recognize, I will not pick up the phone.  There have just been too many scams and crank calls lately.

Yesterday was the first day off classes at NJIT.  It seemed strange to see the campus so crowded after 3 1/2 months of being in the summer mode  when so few students, faculty and staff are around.

I just heard on the news that New Jersey governor Chris Christie is going to Mexico.  It appears that he is trying to get some "experience" in foreign relations before he decides to make a run for the presidency.  I do not like him for 2 reasons:

1.  He vetoed the construction of a new commuter railroad tunnel under the Hudson River which is desparately needed. He cites cost overruns, but if a project is planned properly there should not be cost overruns.

2.  He signed off on the Jersey First law which requires employees of NJ state agencies to live in the state.  Thankfully, I was grandfathered out of this requirement.  I think it is very spiteful to residents of New York and Pennsylvania.

In my opinion Chris Christie is not presidential material.

The Mets Fired the Wrong Person

Mets Merized Online reports that the team fired Leigh Castergine,the Senor Vice President of ticket sales.  It seems that she was unfairly blamed for the decline in ticket sales.  She did bring some innovative ideas to try to bring fans to the stadium such as t-shirt Fridays, concerts, and family Sundays.  In 2009 and 2010 the team drew well as people came to see the new stadium, but the team has had a losing record every year since Citifield opened.  The record is now 64-73 with 25 games to go so it seems very likely the team will finish below .500 again.

Sandy Alderson has made some good and some bad moves.  The trade of Marlin Byrd and John Buck for Vic Black and Dilson Herrara seems to have worked out, but Curtis Granderson has been a very big disappointment so far.  Mets arguable have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball as money of the young pitchers are awesome.  They just need some consistent hitters.  If the blame is to go anywhere is should to the Wilpons.  I really hope they sell the team.