Oy Vey - Broken Air Conditioner on the First Hot Day of the Season

Karen came home this afternoon and turned on the air conditioner in the living room as it must have hit 90 degrees today.  After about an hour it just conked out.  We just bought it a year ago, but thankfully we have a 5 year warranty on it.  The AC in the bedroom is OK.

I hope this doesn't lead to aggravation.  I assume a technician has to come to the house pick it up and take it to be repaired.  Then it has to be returned.  Doesn't everybody just hate to have to stay home for this.  Maybe it is just a broken belt and it can be fixed in the apartment.

It is only a machine.

Mets Were Not Hit by Chris Heston of the Giants Last Night - Good Omen?

Since I left work at 6:00 last night, I didn't get home until 7:30.  I ate dinner and watched a recording of Jeopardy.  It was just after 9 PM and I noticed that the Mets had not gotten a hit in the 7th inning.  I absolutely had to watch as no hitters are still rare.  Either rookie pitcher Chris Heston was very good or the Met hitter stank.  He did get a no hitter.

Story from ESPN

It was the 7th time in their history that the Mets were the victims of a no hitter and the first since 1993.  Gary Cohen said that it was the first time the Mets had been no hit since 1969 when Pirate pitcher Bob Moose did the honors.  A few days later the Mets clinched the National League East title and later won the World Series.  Could this be a good omen that in a year that the Mets were no hit at home they win it all?  Time will tell.

Links Between Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson/Beach Boys?

This photo was found in the Bob Dylan

Fan Group on Facebook

With all the technology available today it is very easy to contrive photos and recordings.  It looks like Bob and Brian together c1990 in the photo above.  But is it for real or did someone "PhotoShop" it?  Would they be good collaborators or would their styles conflict?  I tried to search a Bob Dylan covers database to see if the Beach Boys ever covered a Dylan song, but the database was corrupted.

In the Youtube video below Bob and Brian collaborated in 1988 on a song called Spirit of Rock 'n Roll.  That was the era of the Traveling Wilburys.  Was this recording real or did someone mash up two recordings?

In the Youtube video below the Beach Boys are supposed to be doing a parody of Dylan, but they sound more like Sonny Bono.

Love and Mercy - I recommend this movie to my oldies enthusiast friends

Everybody doesn't like something, but nobody doesn't like America's Band, the Beach Boys.  The group certainly has passed the test of time as they have recorded and given concerts since the early 1960s.  Sadly Carl and Dennis Wilson passed away years ago.

This movie directed Bill Pohlad discusses the psychological problems of Brian Wilson and his relationship with psychotherapist Dr. Eugene Landy.  In the past I have criticized biopics that do not use a chronological approach, but I was impressed the way this film went back and forth between Brian Wilson in the 1960s and 1980s.  John Cusack played the older Brian while Paul Dano played Brian in the 1960s.  There were brief scenes of the actors in the studio working on songs that became big hits for the Beach Boys.

I highly recommend this film for my oldies enthusiast friends

Official website for the film

Random Comments on a Friday Morning

I am really glad that I don't have to go to work today as there are major delays on New Jersey Transit caused by a trespasser being killed on the tracks near Metro Park.  I would likely had to take the PATH train to Newark.  For many years my university has allowed a 4 day week over the summer.  We have the option of working from Monday - Thursday or Tuesday - Friday.  However starting next year we will be working a 30 hour week over 5 days during the summer.

It seems that for 3 days a year everyone is  a horse racing fan following the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.  There is special interest this year as American Pharoh attemps to win the Triple Crown for the first time since 1978.  Over these years 13 horses ave won the first two legs, but lost in the Belmont.  Almost everybody will lose interest on Sunday.

Last night Golden State beat Cleveland 108-100 in the first game of the NBA finals.  Likewise Chicago leads Tampa Bay 1-0 in the Stanley Cup finals.  We are 1/3 of the way into the baseball season, yet pro basketball and hockey are still being played.  The more games they play, the more mondy they make.

I don't Want to Relive an Unpleasant Event in NYC Radio History

It was 10 years ago today that WCBS-FM in an abrupt and unexpected move flipped from oldies to the dreaded Jack format.  Needless to say there was outrage expressed by loyal listeners.  There is a thread on the New York Radio History Board about this.  There is a link to a special board that was set up back then for people to vent.  I just don't want to commemorate this unpleasant event.

Former WABC morning personality Herb Oscar Anderson always sang Hello Again where one of lyrics was "let the past remain the past."

Two Anniversaries for June 1

It was 3 years ago today that Johann Santana pitched the only no hitter in the history of the New York Mets.  I hope Met fans will not have to wait another 50 years to see another one.  I wrote an entry in Bruce's Journal the next day.

It was 48 years ago today that Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was first released.  I bought it on vinyl within a month of release.  I graduated from Forest Hills High School that month as well.  On June 1, 1987 I went to the Record Explosion on 5th Avenue and 36th Street and bought the CD version.  I sure loved that record store and spent many lunch hours there when I worked at NYPL at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street.