I Finally Heard My Bob Dylan Covers Brown Bag - Thank You Chip Ordway

Bill Brown was a radio personality who had a show from 12 noon until 3 PM.  Sadly, he passed away in 2011.  There was a feature called the Brown Bag where a listener could send in a theme set of songs for him to play.  Back in 1996, I sent in a list of Bob Dylan covers for Bill to play.

Chip Ordway, a radio enthusiast, sent me an mp3 file of that aircheck today.  It was an unexpected surprise for me to hear that aircheck for the very first time.  If you click on the link in the first paragraph, you will read the story of why I didn't hear it in 1996.

Thank you very much, Chip.

Colorado Rockies 3 Mets 2

The beginning of the season was so promising for the Mets as they won 11 out of their first 12, but now they have lost 6 in a row at home including 3 shutouts to fall to 17-15.  Ian Desmond was the nemesis as he hit home runs off starter Noah Syndergaard and reliever Hansel Robles.  The hitting for the Mets was flat as they could only muster 5 hits off Rockie pitching.

The Mets move on to Cincinnati to play the Reds who have the worst record in baseball at 8-25.  They move past Matt Harvey and look ahead to the future.

Game Recap

This Time the Entire Family Went to the Whitney Museum

It was time for a return trip to the Whitney Museum since my last visit was on August 15, 2017.  We started on the 8th floor where we viewed Nick Mauss Transmissions which represented a social history of New York's modernist ballet and artistic avant-garde from the 1930s-1950s.  The art on the 7th floor was selections from the general collection of the museum.  Since we had been to the Whitney several times over the years, many of the paintings were familiar.  The exhibits on the 6th floor represented an incomplete history of protest.

The most popular exhibit was Grant Wood: American Gothic and Other Fables.  Much of this artwork concerned farming in Iowa.

There was also Juan Antonio Olivares video Moleculas made using the 3D-animation software.

It was an enjoyable afternoon for the entire family.

I'm Not There and Don't Look Back - Two Bob Dylan Films with Significance for Me Today

Moving on and letting go.  Life is a series of beginnings and endings and one must not get caught in an ending,  Too many times I have revisited the past and now realize it was not the right thing to do.  I have an excellent autobiographical memory which has its benefits and drawbacks.  Too often bad experiences stayed in my mind.  I very often tried to second guess myself and think how I would approach a situation differently many years later.

Let me digress a little bit and discuss the two Dylan films.  I'm Not There was a surrealistic biopic of Dylan released in 2007 which I described in this journal in November of that year,  I interpret the title as saying that Bob Dylan is not there since 5 actors and 1 actress portray him in the film.  There is a song by Dylan called I'm Not There that was originally recorded for the Basement Tapes.  The version in the movie was recorded by Sonic Youth.  If you read the lyrics, it appears a very non-romantic song where the protagonist is not there for his former lover.

Don't Look Back released in 1967 was documentary of Dylan's 1965 concert tour of England when he still played acoustic folk music.  I interpreted the title as Dylan's moving forward to folk rock and not wanting to look back at the past.  There is also a song from the 1965 album Bringing it All Back home called She Belongs to Me where Dylan shows admiration for a woman by saying "She's got everything she needs, she's an artist, she don't look back.  Hey, this guy won the Nobel Prize for literature.  Can't he use correct grammar?

I was there for 25 years, but I'm Not There today because I don't want to look back on much frustration and unhappiness that happened while I was there.  The early days were happier for me, but they are long gone and couldn't be relived if I returned.

I never know who reads this journal, but I assume from time to time a few people over there view it.  If so, please understand that I don't feel bitterness toward anyone.  I am doing well by pursuing interests that I enjoy.  I just don't want to look back.

Atlanta Braves 11 Mets 0

One nice thing about retirement is the ability to go to a weekday afternoon game.  Today I wish I had gone to a park to read a book as the Mets lost to the Atlanta Braves 11-0 at Citi Field.  Jason Vargas started his second game of the season but faltered as he gave up home runs to Kurt Suzuki, Ronald Acuna Jr., and Nick Markakis and left the game in the 4th inning with the Mets behind 6-0.  One-time phenom Matt Harvey gave up 5 runs in the 7th inning to make matters much worse for the Amazins.  Braves starter Julio Teheran pitched allowed no hits until Asrubel Cabrera doubled in the 7th inning.

Whenever I go to Citi Field there is at least one Facebook friend at the game.  Today Joe Persek, former Program Director at WXLO, and Keith Allen-Verdi, former radio personality at B-103 on Long Island were there.  I didn't see either one of them at the game.

Game Recap

When I Try to Find A Quiet Place to Read The Landscapers Come

Landscapers do an essential job by providing a comfortable outdoor environment.  The only drawback is that the equipment they use is noisy.  I guess there is nothing you can do about it.  Anyway, today was the first hot day of the season so I decided to drive out to Crocheron Park in Bayside with a stack of books and magazines.  I sit down and a landscaper come by.  I had to find another sitting area a few hundred yards away.  It is also hard to find a shady place since the trees haven't bloomed yet.

I drove home to eat lunch and then went outside to read again.  Guess what!  The landscapers came around again and I had to move.

Going Out of The Way to Find a Movie for Seniors

This should read movies for seniors

I have mentioned many times in this journal that the local multiplex rarely shows films for an older audience.  The Kew Gardens Cinema as a venue for high-quality films has also been mentioned several times here.  The only problem is that it is often hard to find parking there.  Last Saturday when we saw Beirut at Kew Gardens we saw a trailer for Disobedience staring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams.  There was a very positive review for it in the New York Times.  I wanted to see it, but it is only showing in three theaters in Manhattan.  I decided to see it at City Cinemas 1 2 3 at 3rd Avenue and 60th Street.  This is the first time since January 2009 that I made a special trip to Manhattan to see a movie.  At that time we saw Frost Nixon which was not playing in Queens.