Happy New Year to Readers of Bruce's Journal

I wish all readers of my journal a happy and healthy 2020.  It is a little frustrating not knowing who reads my postings regularly or only once.  I get very few comments, but it is the nature of the internet for people to be anonymous.  Blogger and Google Analytics provide counts of people who read each entry, but I rarely know my writings' impact on people.  Perhaps some think I am a "nut".

See you next year.

Trump Eroding Role of Science in Government

I don't remember if I ever mentioned this here, but I have bachelor's and masters' degrees in chemistry.  Throughout my career as a sci/tech librarian, I always admired and respected the work of scientists and engineers in all disciplines.  Much research of the years has been supported by the federal government.  I quite dismayed this morning as I read in the New York Times the article stating that in three years the Trump administration has diminished the role of science in federal policymaking.

To quote from the article "Political appointees have shut down government studies, reduced the influence of scientists over regulatory decisions and in some cases pressured researchers not to speak publicly. The administration has particularly challenged scientific findings related to the environment and public health as opposed by industries such as oil drilling and coal mining."

I was aghast at the way Trump mocked Greta Thunberg as she was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year.

This attitude toward climate change and the work of research scientists must be reversed.  The only way to do this is to elect his opponent in November 2020.

Stand up for science!

Overkilling Announcements on Facebook

Yesterday, radio personality Don Imus passed away at age 79.  Within an hour I must have seen at least 100 announcements of his passing on Facebook.  How many times must this be done?  It is OK if the poster includes some unique information or perhaps an aircheck.

I moderate fan pages for Cousin Brucie and Harry Harrison and decided to delete posts on those pages about the passing since Imus's radio career had nothing to do with Harry or Brucie.  Readers of those pages heard the announcement on other areas of Facebook.

Imus's "mitzvah" was his donations to charities.  He was very popular on WNBC, WFAN, and WABC, but I never listened to him since his style was not "my cup of tea."  Condolences to his family and friends.

Today's Visit to the Jewish Museum

Sculpture by Rachel Feinstein

The clock actually works

I hadn't been to the Jewish Museum since April when I saw the exhibition about Leonard Cohen.  Obviously exhibits at all museums change, so I thought it was time for a return visit.  The exhibit on the first floor was titled Rachel Feinstein: Maiden, Mother, Crone organized by Kelly Taxter, Barnett and Annalee Newman.  It features three decades of this contemporary artist's work in sculpture, painting, and video, as well as a panoramic wallpaper.

Moving up to the second floor we saw Edith Halpert and the Rise of American Art.  She was the first significant female gallerist in the United States.  In 1926, Halpert opened the Downtown Gallery in New York City, the first commercial art space in Greenwich Village.  The exhibit featured modern and folk art works shown in her gallery over the years.

Finally, the third floor featured Selections from the Collections.  I was impressed by the various Hanukkah menorahs that were shown.

Chanukah Song by Adam Sandler

There are so many Christmas songs out there, but this is the only secular song that I know that celebrates Chanukah,

Special Version of the Limbo Rock Mentioning the WABC DJs in 1962

The Limbo Rock was a big hit for Chubby Checker in Fall 1962.  It is still played at parties.  I vaguely remembered a version of it where Chubby mentioned the WABC radio personalities at that time.  I sent a request to Jon Wolfert who hosts a show on Rewound Radio where he features oldies and radio station jingles.  It is heard Sundays from 3 PM to 6PM.  I sent him a query about that version.  He played it for me on yesterday's show.  I especially thank Charlie Menut who recorded it and sent it to me.

Special WABC Version of Limbo Rock

Original Version

The First Two Years of My Retirement Journey

It is hard to believe that it is now two years since I retired.  I have not read the book whose cover is featured above, but I do believe in its premise that retirement is a journey.  For me, the journey usually comes in one-day adventures.  Sometimes the daily adventure is planned while it also can be an impulsive activity.  Some activities are repetitive when others are one-time events.  When I retired, a very heavy burden was taken off my shoulders.  I no longer have to work at a position that I didn't enjoy during my last years.  There are no more bosses who like to assert their managerial muscles by dominating their subordinates. Commuting delays are a thing of the past.  I have received the precious gift of time to do what I want.

• Reading - I have read tons of books over the past two years.  In the summer months, I sit in parks and read while in the winter I often bring my reading material to the local public library where I don't have to worry about bean counters and scatterbrains.  I also have visited research libraries look up books on baseball and pop music.
• Traveling - over the past two years I have visited:
• Pittsburgh
• Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Phoenix
• Seattle
• Museums - my favorite museums (in no particular order)
• Whitney
• Museum of Modern Art
• Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Paley Center for Media
• Brooklyn Museum
• Jewish Museum
• Guggenheim Museum
• Movies - I regularly go to the local multiplex which usually screens mass appeal films.  I have often traveled to Manhattan to see independent films aimed at a niche audience.
• Bob Dylan- I organized a group that has met once so far at NYU.  Hopefully, this group can be sustained.  I attended the research symposium at Tulsa, Oklahoma.  There were concerts at the Beacon Theater in November 2018 and 2019.
• Music - I have more time to listen to umpteen internet radio stations and to SiriusXM.  I have probably bought more CDs than I really need.  You got to keep me away from Amazon.com 
• Baseball - I had time to attend more Met and Yankee games.  I am also active in the Society for Baseball Research (SABR) by coordinating fact-checking for the Games Project and indexing articles from the Biography Project.
• Hiking - I have spent a couple of hours a day walking through parks in Queens.  These walks are almost therapeutic.

My most pleasant surprise in retirement concerns finances.  I am actually saving money and not having to worry about taking on another job to make ends meet.  My savings through TIAA and my bank IRAs really worked out.  My best advice to younger readers is to plan ahead for retirement.

Tomorrow is another day and another adventure.

Tomorr