Mets 3 Brewers 2

After the Mets lost ugly on Thursday night against the Nationals they really needed a shot in the arm.  They certainly got it last night from Steven Matz who pitched 7 brilliant innings to improved his record to 6-1.  Michael Conforto's two run homer in the 6th inning gave the Mets the lead which was protected by Addison Reed in 8th inning and Jeurys Familia in the 9th.

This game was part of the 13 game package we bought in the spring.  Since it was a Friday night we go another t-shirt.

Game recap

Remembering Richard Sweeney for His Kindness

Today I tried to get to work a little early as it was the day of the Chemistry Olympics at NJIT. When I got to the library I observed some commotion by the circulation staff, but I couldn't pay attention to it as I was in a hurry to get to the competition. I started out as usual but at 9:30 I got an email from Davida saying that Rich Sweeney was hit by a car as he was crossing the street after parking his car. He was hurt very badly and was taken to the hospital. About two hours later Cindy Wos from the chemical engineering department came in to say that he died from the injuries he sustained in the accident.

Just after lunch I returned to the library as the staff huddled together comforting each other. President Joel Bloom and Provost Fadi Deek came by to comfort the staff and brought a few people from the counseling center.

I must remember Richard Sweeney for the kindness he should the staff over the 20 years he was University Librarian. Just after he assumed the position he invited the entire library staff to his home for a barbeque. It always a tradition for him to take people out to lunch for their birthdays. Sometimes it would be in a group while other times he would take one person out. He was especially kind to me in September 1997 when he went out of his way to attend my father's funeral. On several occasions he went to funerals of family members of staff. He always liked to make small talk with me about the New York Mets.

He will be certainly be missed by the entire NJIT and library communities. My sincere condolences to his family.

To quote radio personality Harry Harrison “Every day should be unwrapped like a precious gift.”

The Unoriginal Bob Dylan - What Bob sings when he doesn’t sing his own songs.

There was a special issue of New York Magazine with the title "What We Wore" which was an overview of the history of fashion.  I thumbed through it relatively quickly until I came to the "Culture Pages" where the article was titled "The Unorginal Bob Dylan."

The author ranked Dylan's cover albums with World Gone Wrong  as #1 and Self-Portrait was the worst at #9.  There was also a list of Dylan's most played covers at concerts.  Not Fade Away originally done by Buddy Holly was played at 138 concerts.  There was even a list of songs that Dylan covered just once in concerts.  This included:

• (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay
• Here Comes the Sun
• Yesterday
• Stand by Me.

I really suggest that these Dylan concert covers be used for a future Bootleg Series set.

This issue of New York may be found at http://nymag.com/nymag/toc/20160516/ .  The specific article will go online within a few days.

May 16, 1966 Pet Sounds and Blonde on Blonde are Released

On April 30 I discussed the 50th anniversary of Blonde on Blonde so it is not necessary to repeat the discussion.  On the same day the seminal Beach Boy album Pet Sounds was released.  I didn't buy it when it was first released, but I bought a vinyl reissue several years later.  I don't have a CD of it.  Many consider it Brian Wilson's masterpiece.  Part of the recent movie Love and Mercy described the making of Pet Sounds in 1966.  There is a very detailed discussion of the album in the Wikipedia.
My favorite cut is "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times".

Yankees 2 White Sox 1

I planned to go to only two Yankee games today but my NJIT colleague Maria Denaro had two tickets for today's game she couldn't use so she gave them to me.  I bought the third ticket so the family could go together.  It turned out to be a pitchers duel between Ivan Nova and Jose Quintana.  For the first time the Yankees used "The Big Three" in the bullpen to close out the game.  Dellan Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman combined for 8 strike outs in the final 3 1/3 innings.  This was the first time that the three pitched in the same game.

Game recap

Fallen Angels - First Listen of the New Bob Dylan Album

Today I was able to hear a preview of Bob Dylan's new album Fallen Angels that was put on the web by NPR.  The album will be released on May 20.  Since I bought tickets for his July 8th concert at Forest Hills Stadium, I will get a copy of the CD for free.  The songs are:

Young at Heart
Maybe You'll Be There
Polka Dots and Moonbeams
All the Way
Skylark
Nevertheless
All or Nothing at All
On a Little Street in Singapore
It Had to Be You
Melancholy Mood
That Old Black Magic
Come Rain or Come Shine

These are all adult standards and are not songs written by Dylan.  The best thing about listening to Dylan is to analyze his songs and even take them apart word by word.  The last Dylan album with his compositions was The Tempest which was released in 2012.  Has Dylan ceased writing songs?  Certainlyover the years hundreds if not thousands of recording artists have covered Dylan songs.  I guess turnabout is fair play and Dylan has chosen to cover adult standards written by others.

Congratulations to Rita Houston of WFUV

A hearty congratulations to Rita Houston who was #4 on a list of the Top 25 Rock Radio Programmers compiled by Billboard magazine.  I wish there was more time in the day to listen to WFUV, but when it comes to listening to the radio, I am all over the place, but I always find time to listen to WFUV.

No listener will ever be burnt out by listening to a tight playlist.  It is my number one source on terrestrial radio for Bob Dylan's music.  I contribute to the station every year.