Now a Moment to Pat Ourselves on the Back

Sean and his Daddy - two weeks after the blog began: August 31, 2006.  We're at Playland in Rye, NY.

Six years ago today, I started this enterprise.  Blogs sadly come and go (oh Tim Parry, Mick, and Matt Hamilton, we miss you...among others...and Sean Kilkelly, we need more!).  In the meantime, we carry on.

Some say blogs are dying.  Maybe so.  I still enjoy it.  I'm always thinking about things to write.  I might lack the time I once had (damn jobs getting in the way!) but I still look forward to doing this.  It hasn't made me famous, and goodness knows it really hasn't made me money, but I have made friends and broadened my world as a result.

I even have a person in my life who encourages me to keep writing (thanks, Lisa).

So here we are.  If you've never read post number one, well, here it is, as I wrote about a subject near and dear to my heart: the old Yankee Stadium.  I'm not sure I could pick a favorite post, but I have many that I'm proud of.  Still it would be hard to pick them all out.

I'm glad to still be doing this as the seventh year begins.

Let's do some links (a long-running standard, along with "Off the Bench")!

Vin Scully did a podcast with Jimmy Traina at Sports Illustrated.  I haven't even listened to it yet, but it's The Great Scully, and that's all that matters.

Under no circumstances...no (Stuck in the 80's).  There should not be A Christmas Story 2.  Not a single person from the original is in it.  Of course, it's going straight to video, and that's where it belongs.

My friend Charles Costello writes a really good blog via the Greenwich Time, and, in theory, it is supposed to be about education.  Yet on occasion, as is his wont, Chuck delves into things like sports, personal issues, even pets.  In other words, it's a blog about education but isn't STRICTLY about education.  I often think I want more comments on this blog to stimulate conversation and debate.  The problem is: be careful what you wish for.  In reading the comments on Chuck's page, I could feel my blood pressure spiking.  The comments were so foolish (especially when they come from the always-gutless "Anonymous") that it made my hair hurt.  Then there were the repeat posters that just seem to have an anti-Costello bias.

People.  Please.  Get...a...grip.

I've stayed out of the Chick-Fil-A thing, but Robert Ford, the Kansas City Royals broadcaster, has thrown his pennies in.  I have to say that Roberts' take is spot-on.  I'm very much in favor of gay marriage and respect Chick-Fil-A president and COO Dan Cathay's right to his opinion.  It's clear that the company is openly conservative, given their policy of being closed on Sundays and support of very Conservative causes.  Sure, one has the right to withhold supporting any business, and I'm all for that (heck, that's the American Way - or whatever).  Yet...I also like their food, and , as Robert said, "Every time I’ve visited a Chick-Fil-A restaurant, I’ve gotten what I’ve paid for and their employees have treated me and other customers respectfully."  And so...yeah.  That.

I'm not going out of my way to get there, and I can't stress enough that I don't believe in things Chick-Fil-A stands for.  But...I wonder how many companies there are that have questionable values that the media has not exposed?

Enough of that rant.

Anyway, thanks for reading and all of that good stuff.  It's amazing how different things are six years later.  Now it's time to begin year seven.

Stunning

Unreal.  That is all.

An Analysis of the Perfect Broadcast

I want one of these.

On September 9, 1965, Sandy Koufax threw a perfect game for the Dodgers in Los Angeles against the Cubs.  Koufax was as perfect as a pitcher can be, striking out 14 - that last six in a row - as the former Bums beat the Cubs 1-0.

But he wasn't the only one who was perfect.  Up in the broadcast booth, with no TV that night, Vin Scully crafted a broadcast so incredible that the ninth inning has been transcribed (and a teacher at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting uses it in his lessons).

TJ Simers from the LA Times sat down with Scully to discuss it.

If you've never heard it...listen.  Wow.

Appreciation

Life...health...relationships...flowers.  Besides, Lisa isn't much for posting pictures of herself (even if I thought the picture of us at Sunday night's Huey Lewis concert was good).

In life, it is always healthy to get a grip.  You know, perception.  Sometimes, one can look at another situation that might not be so good but turn it positively and recognize how lucky they are to have a good thing.

Lisa and I are moving along quite nicely, thank you very much.  And while we don't need any reminders, it can still be nice to get one.

We're having a good time.  I mean, this is supposed to be fun, right?  And lacking drama, no?

I'm sitting in her house right now, as she is vacuuming down the hallway.  I'm stretched out on her couch, typing away and glancing out the picture window occasionally.*

*OK, before you say "get off your ass and help her clean", let's clear that one up.  Lisa likes to do things like that on her own.  When she wants my help, she will ask.  Trust me on this one.  Otherwise, I simply get in the way.  So she just wants me to do my thing: "go blog", she will sometimes say.  It's not like she doesn't want me around.

On occasion, you get a glance into the world of other couples, and other people.  It is right there when one (be it you, me, Lisa, etc) looks inside of themselves and realizes how happy they are.  Perhaps it's taking a negative and making it positive, but either way it's a good thing.

As a result, one takes everything into account, and hugs their mate a little tighter.  One might also go buy flowers.

So far, the only things Lisa and I seem to "argue" about are John Mellencamp, what to eat for dinner, and when I get in her way when I try to help out (see?).  On occasion, we delve into the deeper stuff: money, outside people and forces that might impact us (some people just do not get it), and whether or not the Patriots should have allowed the Giants to score in Super Bowl XLVI.

I'm not serious about one of those...

But if those are our only "problems", man I'll take it.

Checking the Stats

Every now and then, I check the stats on who is reading.  I especially like seeing what posts get the most hits, and seeing what areas the readers are from.  It's always interesting.

For instance, the single most read item here is the "Oniontown Ouch" post from 2008.  Even as I look now, it's second in reads over the last 24 hours, in back of the "Vertigo" post.  Among the intriguing items is the hits on the post "I'll Be Back", discussing my absence on the blog, from April of this year.  Written at a time of confusion and hurt, it was a way of pulling my head out of my arse and saying that I'm just refocusing.

The result of that refocus?  It set some things in motion, such as the Florida trip in May and, this post, announcing that Lisa and I are...well...Lisa and I.  That resonated with the expected sonic boom of hits, Facebook likes, and comments.  Let's call it a game-changer.

As for who's reading, the top five countries are the US (duh), Russia (?!), Germany, the UK, and Canada.  New York is consistently tops among cities and towns, and I'm assuming that encompasses the five boroughs for the most part.  Boston and Stamford (using a sample from July 1 to this morning), with Carmel and Mahopac rounding out the top five.

Now, granted, I live in Mahopac, but I feel like I'm not here that much, and especially feel like I don't really know anyone.  So I'm intrigued as to who is reading.  I can understand Carmel - I lived there when the blog started and was more active in that community, between Sean's school and baseball.  Stamford makes sense, because of my radio work (Greenwich also hits a lot), but...Boston?

After the top five comes a newer entry...Hyde Park...New York.  Hmmm...wonder why Hyde Park and Poughkeepsie have trended up?  White Plains, NY also hits a lot, along with Ashburn, VA.  Interesting.

Anyway, there's nothing to make of all of this.  I enjoy the numbers, but can't stress or over analyze them.  Just fun.

As always, thanks for reading.  Sometimes, I wonder (as you know), and occasionally, I get reminded that, yes indeed, you're all out there.  I'm grateful - it's why later this month we will finish up year six of "Exit 55."

Well, friends, I have a concert to get ready for.  Huey and the boys take the stage at 7:30.

And I just read the news of Eagles coach Andy Reid's son passing.  My condolences to the Reid's and the Eagles family.

The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

Ah, you know how it goes.  I love lists (as you might have read recently).  Can't get enough of them.  Love to break them down and debate them.

So here we go again.  Rolling Stone says these are the 500 greatest albums.

I haven't read the whole thing, but I have read the top 10.  They are...
10) The Beatles (The White Album) - The Beatles
9) Blonde on Blonde - Bob Dylan
8) London Calling - The Clash
7) Exile on Main Street - Rolling Stones
6) What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
5) Rubber Soul - The Beatles
4) Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan
3) Revolver - The Beatles
2) Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
1) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles

I have a hard time arguing with that group.  My personal taste would lean towards Revolver over Sgt. Pepper, but I can understand how people look at the whole picture, and consider what an achievement Sgt. Pepper was (and is).  It is certainly among the most influential records ever, and that is what likely gets it the top spot.

I think the only album in that group that I don't own is What's Going On, which is not to say I don't like Marvin Gaye.  I do, and own other stuff of his.

This list does take other genres of  music into account, which is how Kind of Blue by Miles Davis is here.  Incidentally, Kind of Blue should be the first jazz album that you ever buy.  It is is Jazz 101.  Easy Listening (Frank Sinatra, people!), hip hop, Rap, R&B, country, blues, and a lot more are represented.

The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones place the most albums on the list, with 10 each.  Ahem...Bruce Springsteen is next, with eight, followed by The Who, with seven.  Huey Lewis and the News didn't have any, which must purely be an oversight, or there was the recognition that their work is so stellar that it wouldn't be fair to include them*.

*OK, I'm not being serious, but I do think they get overlooked quite often, and disregarded.  Sports and Fore! were among the most popular albums of the 1980's.  Now popularity doesn't speak to what's best, but still.  I think Sports is still a damn good album.  You mileage, of course, may vary.  That being said, I didn't expect to find any of their work in the top 500.

To me, I'm not sure there is much to debate after the top 10.  Is somebody being left out entirely?  Is the list too highbrow?  Is it just typical Rolling Stone bull spit?  Should hits collections be included?

I'm still breaking it all down, and there are no correct answers, but I don't find myself outraged.  That's highly unusual.

"Vertigo" Wins Best Picture Ever

Last week, Sight & Sound released their latest poll of the greatest films of all time.  Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo tops the list, well ahead of Citizen Kane.  Christian Blauvelt at Entertainment Weekly (among others) breaks down the list here.

Citizen Kane had been the standard-bearer for 50 years, and while scholars agree that it is an incredible movie, most moviegoers normally say "meh" when talking about it.  Yet everything we see now comes from a movie like Kane.  Still, it is a movie I highly recommend seeing, and try seeing it recognizing that it is all new as it is being produced in 1941.

Vertigo is utterly...freaking...brilliant.  I've been beating this horse for years, beginning when I first saw it, in college, in 1987.  Yes, it's slow, but I discover something new every time I see it.  And it is Jimmy Stewart at his most desparate - even maniacal.  Plus it is a story of incredible depth.  I love it, and am thrilled to see it named as the best movie ever...but I'm surprised.

I figured Kane would be the winner.  Even The Godfather (which is personally high on my list, but didn't make the top 10 on the Sight and Sound list).  But...Vertigo?

To be honest, it is not a list of movies that most people have seen.  I've seen four of the top 10: Vertigo, Citizen Kane, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and The Searchers.  I don't even think The Searchers is John Ford's best work, preferring Stagecoach and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (not to mention The Grapes of Wrath and The Quiet Man, but I'm not a voter.  I thought 2001 was, er, interesting, though it is perhaps Stanley Kubrick's crowning achievement.

Vertigo is deep, with Hitchcock in the midst of his finest period of pictures, including North by Northwest and Rear Window, with Psycho soon to come.  Kim Novak is fine as Madeline/Judy, but this is Stewart's film.  Trust me, this is not George Bailey.  This is Scottie Ferguson, former detective, full of psychological "stuff."

If you ever watch it (and I implore you to), you might dislike it.  You might even hate it.  But if you're open enough, and like the work of Stewart and Hitchcock, you will get into it.  Then...maybe a few hours later...or a few days later...you'll go "whoa!" as the tale begins to wind around you.

It is the work of two masters at the top of their game.

HLN - "Trouble in Paradise"

To continue to get Lisa and I (and, by extension, you) pumped up for tomorrow night's big Huey Lewis and the News show (featuring Joe Cocker), I feel I must post a little old-school HLN.  I was able to see what the set list is looking like, and noticed that "Trouble in Paradise", a song featured on their debut album, might be played.

The original "Trouble in Paradise" has a new wave gloss to it (as much of Huey Lewis and the News does*).  By the time they did this in San Francisco at the Kabuki Theater in 1985, the song had been reworked with more soul.  In fact, the band considers themselves to be more of a soul band than either a rock or pop outfit (and certainly not that dreaded Adult Contemporary).

*Didn't we just cover that last night?  "Their early work was a little new wave for my taste", said Patrick Bateman.

This version has been released several times - first on the We Are The World charity album, and then on some HLN greatest hits efforts and so on.  Admittedly, I must have about four or five copies of it in my collection.  Plus, it was recorded for the Grammy-winning video The Heart of Rock and Roll Live.  Featuring horns from the Tower of Power...here it is!


If you're curious about the original...well...


Most of the original band is still together, with Chris Hayes and Mario Cipollina having departed (though both have stepped on stage with the band at one point or another).  Huey, Johnny Colla, Bill Gibson, and Sean Hopper have been joined by Stef Burns on guitar and John Pierce on bass, along with a killer horn section and backup singers.  Sadly, because they're opening, they won't be doing a their typically longer set.  Such is life...but no complaints.

Looking forward to it (and I think the seats are going to be pretty good too!).

A Little MTV Blast from the Past

With MTV's anniversary passing earlier this week, I thought it would be fun to post this recording of the network from 1983.  Of course, there's an anterior motive, and you can find that right around this 7:45 mark (just after Night Ranger).

You guessed it.  Huey Lewis and the News, doing "Heart and Soul." 



Now (spoken in my "Casey Kasem" voice), you might not know that Huey and the News weren't the first to record the song.  Indeed, the song was originally recorded by the band Exile, who had a huge hit with "Kiss You All Over", in 1978.  The band performed "Heart and Soul" from the album of the same name.  Their version seems to lack the rock edge that HLN added to it for the Sports album in 1983.  "Heart and Soul" peaked at number 102 on the Billboard chart in 1981 for Exile.


I might have mentioned that Lisa and I will be seeing HLN on Sunday night.  I have to admit that I'm getting pretty excited for my first show with the boys since 2005.

Which leaves me with just one question:

Do you like Huey Lewis and the News?


Little, tiny factual error.  Fore came out in 1986 and not in 1987.  But we digress.

Me and Huey - Together Again!

It's been seven years.  Ugh...seven long years.  But finally, thanks to my niece Stephanie, I'm going to see Huey Lewis and the News again.

Stephanie won the tickets from WHUD Radio and told them to give them to me.  I raised her and her sisters on the gospel of Huey back in the day.

Oh I've seen them before.  First in 1985, at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Middletown, NY.  Then in 1987...twice...first at Madison Square Garden (yes, still my favorite show ever), then at Middletown again.  Then in 1989, playing as The Sports Section (trying out new tunes) at The Chance in Poughkeepsie, NY (I actually scalped tickets!).  Next was 1991 at Jones Beach in the pouring rain.  It was five years before the next show, at the Westbury Music Center on Long Island, then an intimate show in 1999 at the Charles Ives Center in Danbury, CT.  In 2001, I saw the boys at Jones Beach again.  The last show was in 2005 at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie.  My cousin Kris had some connections and got us backstage where we said hello to Huey and Bill Gibson, and took pictures with both Stef Burns and Johnny Colla.

Ah, that was a lifetime ago.

Anyway, Lisa and I will head to Bethel Woods for a good night of HLN and Joe Cocker this Sunday.  A big ol' thanks goes to Stephanie for looking out for her Uncle!

We need some music!  I honor of Lisa, who posted "I" as a Facebook status.  Among my responses was "I...want a new drug?"

Creepy to the Max

Max Headroom

Er...Um...Not Exactly Max Headroom

Each Friday morning, I join WGCH News Director Tony Savino for approximately eight minutes of sports talk.  I normally jump on my computer, troll around for a few nuggets, and wait to go on.  That sometimes means having a few minutes to check in on Facebook which can often produce a few interesting things.

Holy crap did it ever.

I vaguely remember this.  Let's flashback!

November 22, 1987 (hey, nice day...oh, right, it was my 19th birthday).  In Chicago, WGN was airing the Nine O'Clock News.  During the sports, anchored, by Dan Roan, something strange (and creepy happened)...


So here I am, watching this earlier today and, frankly, getting a little spooked!  But (as they say) WAIT!  There's more!

Holy Son of Sam!

Later that same night in 1987, WTTW was airing Doctor Who, when Max popped in again.  This time, he spoke (the video has subtitles).


Yikes - something about all of this gave me the shakes.   Credit goes to Mental Floss for the background info.  Max, by the way, has never been caught.  Come forward, Max!  The statute of limitations is up!

Not as concerning was the Captain Midnight incident on HBO.  Peter Jennings anchors our coverage.


Some of this makes me recognize what people must have felt with the "War of the Worlds" performance in 1938.

Thurm

It can still bring a tear to the eye.  He was one of ours; a hitting machine and a gruff SOB who was the very heart of three straight American League Champion and two World Champion teams.

And - just like that - he was gone, 33 years ago today.

Thurman Lee Munson.

It was a sports fans moment.  A moment you remember exactly.  The details, oh so fresh.  Plane crash.  Canton, Ohio.  Channel 5 (WNEW) from New York, breaking in with the news at about 4:30 in the afternoon.  A Thursday.  The rest of the story is quite familiar.  There were games to be played, and a funeral to attend, ending that night with Thurman's good friend, Bobby Murcer, homering and driving in five runs to beat the Orioles - the eventual American League Champions - 5-4.

The franchise took a long time to recover.  Yes, they won the AL East in 1980 and went to the World Series in 1981, but things were strange.  The 80's had a malaise hanging over them for the Yankees, until the euphoria of 1996, when a kid named Jeter (who won Rookie of the Year, just as Munson did in 1970) helped the team back to nirvana.

Munson's locker stayed in the locker room of the old Stadium - a place that I stood right next to once, but didn't dare go in.  Oh no.  And have no doubt that the team and players treated that as hallowed ground.

The Yankees moved it to the new Stadium in 2009, where it sits in the Yankees Museum.  When I first went in, there was no sign to explain to visitors.  To be honest, none was needed.  The older fan could tell the kid (or the newbie) who that stark white booth with the number "15" on it belonged to.

He only played 11 years.  There were rumors he wouldn't catch again, and that he would take his talents to Cleveland beginning in 1980.  Indeed, in his last game, at Chicago on August 1, 1979, he played first base.  I remember the game clearly - such a strange sight to see.  The Yankees won the game 9-1, and Munson went 0-1, with a strikeout in his final at-bat.  He left the game in the bottom of the third, replaced by Jim Spencer.

The inclusion of players like Ron Santo can help reopen the case of Munson for the Hall of Fame.  Many say that his time has passed; there's no hope for him to gain the recognition.  Certainly there are those that will carry his torch.  Remember that comparing a catcher to a player like Santo, who was a third baseman, isn't necessarily fair.  Catchers aren't - and shouldn't be - judged only on their offense.  Consider the backstops of the era, and Munson holds up just fine.  Who is going to say that Thurman Munson was no worse than the third best catcher of the 70's, behind Johnny Bench and Carlton Fisk (both Hall of Famers)?  Take a look at this page.  Who is better?

Munson won the Rookie of the Year in 1970.  He won the 1976 American League MVP.  They say that Curt Schilling (a premier gasbag) is going to make the Hall of Fame based on his stellar postseason performance.  Well Munson hit .373 in three World Series, and .357 for his postseason career (of which he played 30 games).  His OPS (ugh) in those three World Series was .909.  Add in three Gold Gloves in the era he shared with Fisk.

Look, I'm not trying to make a plaque for him, but let's give him some proper credit and consideration.  That, to me, is what the inclusion of Ron Santo did.

Munson's number 15 hangs in Monument Park.  His presence still looms large.  Fans - now fathers and even grandfathers - remember and talk about him.  I posted that picture at the top of this post on my Facebook post, and within a half hour, there were seven likes and three comments.  We all still remember him and, truly, have a hard time coming up with a loss in baseball that hit us as hard - along with Lou Gehrig and Roberto Clemente, of course.  This is said with absolutely no disrespect to names like Lyman Bostock (murdered), Addie Joss (meningitis), Darryl Kile, and others.  Lastly, no disrespect to Ray Chapman, hit by a pitch in the temple in 1920 - still, the only major leaguer to die on a field.

But this is about Thurman Munson.  Our guy.  Our leader.

Our Captain.

The Great Scully Embraces Twitter!

Well, not exactly.  Vin Scully barely knows how to operate a computer, from what I've heard, but he does his best to read this "twitt" on a recent Dodgers broadcast.


Ah the beauty of being the best sports broadcaster in history, and being charming at the age of 84.  Tomorrow, maybe Vin will wow us with his version of  "Call Me Maybe."

Quick Addendum to My Stadium Rant

Phil Soto-Ortiz (he's the one in the Rangers sweater)

My friend Phil Soto-Ortiz coincidentally wrote about the ESPN/Yankee Stadium topic that I tackled last night.  I would have initially linked to it had I seen it.  Phil's take puts the onus on Yankees fans for, essentially, lacking the passion that they (we) once had.

His thoughts are well-reasoned and it's a solid read as always.  That, of course, doesn't mean I have to agree with him!

I still think the Stadium was plenty loud right up until Brandon Steiner drove the wrecking ball in with dollar signs on it.  But that being said, winning breeds contempt, and it is easy for fans to become complacent.  There's no doubt that some of that happened.  He also makes New York "Metsland" in the 80's (an opinion that others, including Tim McCarver, has).  I don't think it was that cut and dried.  There were, at times, two really good teams in the 80's, and it isn't that easy to just say that attendance was the reason.  This was a two-team town (the Bombers were hardly irrelevant, as I pointed out).

One last thing - the 80's into the early 90's was George Steinbrenner at his worst.  Fans got sick of that act.  But, ultimately, the "safety" issues around the Stadium were a big reason for the empty seats.  I never bought into that.  It never stopped me from going.

Anyway, Phil's stuff is worth reading, and makes for a nice counterpoint to my rant.

To August...with a Yankee Stadium Rant

It's a busy time.  Lots going on with "The Press Box", work (the ice cream biz at its busiest), getting ready for football season, yada yada yada.

It will just get nuttier in August with more of the same.  So much to do and still retain my sanity!

I saw where the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball voices took Yankee Stadium to task last week, and with good reason.  Despite what anyone tells you, the new Stadium does not retain the sound the way it used to.  Yes, the Yankees fan isn't what it once was, since the fans have been priced out of the area closest to the field, but don't kid yourself.  The Bombers are third in attendance (and have been near the top of the attendance heap for a decade now).

I love this idea that at one time New York was a definitive "Mets town."  To that I say a definitive "bulls*it."  Yes, the Mets won in 1986.  Yes, they went to the playoffs in 1988.  Yes, they drew three million.  Yes, they won, but it wasn't as if the team across town was terrible (at least during the 1984-1988 stretch).

Allow me, again, to give you the lesson of the 80's when the belief was that The Bronx was mega-dangerous.

The whole Stadium attendance argument is multi-layered.

I will take to my grave that Yankee Stadium was the safest place to be on game day with a large police presence.  But at the same time, the team, pandering for the new building that they now have, allowed the belief to carry on.  And (not for nothing, as the saying goes) it wasn't as if the Yankees had slugs on those teams.  It is without doubt that, for a period, they had the best player in the game in Donald Arthur Mattingly.  They also had Dave Winfield and Rickey Henderson (Hall of Famers), along with Willie Randolph.  Across town, the Mets had a great team of Strawberry, Gooden, Carter, Hernandez, etc.  But it wasn't as if the Yankees weren't competing (at least through '87).  Things began to go down in '88 and were in the basement by '91-92.

Still, the building could rock.  I can tell you - with certainty - that 27,225 in attendance for Jim Abbott's no-hitter sounded like 57,000 in September, 1993.  Only a few years later, Vin Scully (who called the 1996 World Series on CBS Radio) called the Stadium among the loudest places he had ever been.

I was there for Tino Martinez's grand slam in 1998, Game 1 of the 2000 Subway World Series, and Scott Brosius' game-tying home run in 2001.  The place shook each time.  You couldn't hear yourself think.

I felt the passion in that place from my seat for each Friday night game right up until the end in 2008.

I felt some of that same passion in 2009 at the new place.  The problem was, the sound didn't carry like it used to.  That's where I think the ESPN voices are spot-on.

Again, it's a multifaceted argument.  But I'm looking at a packed Stadium right now on TV and the sound can hit you.  But in the building, it does not have the echo effect that the old place had.

It's the building.  Plain and simple.

I'm out on this note (keeps me from going out of my mind - consider it a reappearance of good old "Rule 55").  Mr. Springsteen and company performed in Sweden the other night, and for the first time on this tour, brought out "Jungleland."  Many had wondered if the song would never be played again, as it was the late Clarence Clemons' tour de force.  But with nephew Jake Clemons on sax, the song sounded amazing via this video shot from the crowd.  Very well done.

Muzak

I work in a job that sends me into a lot of stores.  Many of them are convenience joints, while others are grocery stores.  In almost all of them, there is music to be found.

Glub.

I know, I know - the idea is to play things that don't offend people.  But why play crap?  For that matter, why play anything at all?

It's an interesting cross-section.  At one store, you're just as likely to hear some new wave or pop as you are to hear opera or Sinatra.  Another store plays primarily pop tunes - but sometimes offbeat stuff that you haven't heard in years.  Then there are the "oldies" stores, playing nothing newer than, say, 1966.  A steady diet of Fats Domino, Dion, Chuck Berry and so on.

Then there are the places that play radio stations.  I go to one store that must get their audio off the Internet, because they play the most bizarre radio stations, like soft rock music from Missouri, complete with ads.

And then there is WEBE 108.  Now don't get me wrong.  The WEBE model is a solid one - play lots of "safe" music that people in offices, medical buildings, and grocery stores want to hear.  They have DJ's that seem like really nice people, and have been around for years.  But the music is often repetitive and, by the way, not my taste.  Taylor Swift, P!nk, Adele, Katy Perry, and so on.  In fact, have a look-see at their music, and you can see what they play.

And make sure they sprinkle in a little Michael Buble.  They will.  Trust me.

Now spend about two or three hours near a pair of speakers playing that.

My first job in radio was at WMJV (Majic 105) and we played this genre, albeit the safe adult contemporary hits of 1990-1991.  You know, Celine, Mariah, Whitney, Luther Vandross, etc.

Egad.

It's a very successful concept, and I can't stress that enough.  I just wish there was a bigger playlist, or maybe a lunchtime throwback hour, or something.  That store is the only one I actually carry an iPod into.

When I worked at the red bullseye, one thing that wasn't immediately obvious, but became blissful was that there was no music being piped in.  The silence was, indeed, golden! 

So it was that I found myself thinking about that today at a Marshall's store in Poughkeepsie (part of Lisa's TMM trio, along with Target and TJ Maxx).  After hearing another ungodly spewing of Buble, along came Taylor Dane.

No mas, people!  Think of the children!

So, please, follow the lead of Target, Wal-Mart, and others.  Unless you are Empire Records (since we all know Tower is gone), go with silence, friends.

My ears will thank you.

Staying In

There's something to be said for shutting down.  I mean, closing the door on the world and just hanging out.

It wasn't our initial plan.  Lisa and I were going to spend our Saturday together (trust me when I say this is rare) doing "stuff."  Maybe riding our bikes.  Going to Sears so she could look at vacuum cleaners.  Dinner with my family.  Checking out the new LL Bean story in Danbury.

But...no.  Nope.

We were lazy.  Well, not entirely.  It wasn't like we didn't go out or clean up.  I went out twice - once for a cup of coffee and an egg sandwich, and once to go get dinner (pizza, of course).  As for the family dinner plan, it came together at the last minute, and we needed more time to get ourselves there than was available.

So Lisa cleaned and I cleaned up some of her pictures and videos.  We were semi-productive, and we keep growing closer.

I don't know about you, but I often run myself into the ground.  Don't get me wrong, because I'm not complaining but when you factor in everything, "down time" isn't a priority.  Occasionally, I need a day like this to refresh and recharge.  The problem is, I don't often know when or how to do it.  I think I owe Lisa some thanks for getting me to take a break, even if it wasn't the initial intention.


Oh yeah, and as for the video, this is one that Lisa has been patiently waiting to load.  I'm going to put it here on the ol' blogoria.  She shot it standing on Kaaterskill Falls - a spot that was an achievement (for me) to get to, but was also a little hair raising.  Lisa went right near the edge, which made me nervous.  Plus I was aware that we needed to go back down.  So yeah, I was a touch shaky.


And pictures?  Well here's a classic one.  Lisa and I were having breakfast on Cape Cod one morning when she snapped this picture of me.  If you haven't figured it out, I'm looking at my cell phone.  A very typical thing for me.  The beauty of it is that Lisa embraces it and laughs at it.

While we're at it, here's Sean, kicking it in the pool.

Here is the only picture of all three of us from Cape Cod...just add water (there's an embedded joke in there).

And finally, Sean and his daddy.

All in all, it was a relaxing day for us.  Tomorrow, we'll come back into civilization.

The Olympics and Politics

Jim McKay, speaking the harrowing words of 1972 in Munich.

The Games of the XXX Olympiad are getting underway in London as we speak.  The opening ceremonies will air in tape delay tonight on NBC (a place I once desperately wanted to work).  I get the business sense of doing that, but I feel like showing them live would have been appropriate.  Just my take.

But as always, the Olympic games find ways to let politics drop in and muck things up.

If you need a history lesson, here's a quick one: the Games were held in 1972 in Munich.  Palestinians known as "Black September" stormed the quarters of the Israeli team and took hostages, demanding the release of prisoners.  After negotiation and debate, the drama that played out over September 15 and 16 ended with the deaths of six Israeli athletes and five coaches, as well as a West German police officer.

The broadcasts were carried on ABC, with Jim McKay, Howard Cosell, Chris Schenkel and an armada of talented voices in the old golden blazers of the Alphabet Network.  Watch this quick piece on the late Jim McKay, and wait for the end when he speaks those chilling words: "They're all gone."

The London Games mark the 40th anniversary of the Munich massacre, and many people think it is only right for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to recognize it.  Regardless of race, religion and such, I think it is the proper thing to do.  ELEVEN Olympic participants died in Munich.  They were there for the Olympics. As such, it is incumbent on IOC boss Jacques Rogge to pause for a minute to allow those losses to be remembered.

Why does this seem so simple, and yet so complex?

Rogge will tell you that he already had a moment of silence for them - at the Athletes' Village - earlier this week.

Enter Bob Costas.  The NBC host will not let the moment pass during tonight's broadcast, as he had said he will rip the IOC for their petty attitude regarding this, and will have NBC observe its own moment of silence.  To that, I say bravo. 

In a world that comes off as so blatantly politically correct, this move would be right to draw that kind of criticism.  But in a world that can often come off as cruel and cold, it seems right. 

This isn't about pandering.

This is about the athletes.  As usual, Jacques Rogge is playing the all-too-familiar role of the villain.

Let there be pause.

Then bring on Paul McCartney!

Then let the games begin.

Cougar...Cougar Mellancamp...Mellancamp...Oh Who the BLEEP CARES?

I went over the edge of the waterfall in the old musical barrel today.  One of my truest, closest friends, Jon From R-Va, had nudged me there, but never badly.  We agreed to disagree.  Then along came Lisa ("Along Came Mary" is a different tune - by The Association in 1966).  Though not the only person to help push this vehicle along (you can add my brother and a few others to the movement), she nonetheless gave us a priceless moment...

The Scene: Massachusetts Route 6A, between Truro and Provicetown.  A pleasant evening has begun, but on Rob's SiriusXM satellite radio, a warbling has commenced...  Lisa, a blonde in the passenger seat, reaches over and increases the volume.  Rob, the driver, sits there, silently, and for the next few minutes, with his hands gripping the steering wheel, turning his knuckles white, feeling leaving his fingers, says nothing.  His blood pressure increases with each second.  No other sound exists in the car, except the odious sound emitting from the radio.  Sean remains silent in the back seat, fearful that these might be his fathers' last moments on Earth.

Or he's not really paying attention at all.

Then came today.  Chris "Kato" Kaelin, my friend, WGCH colleague, and "Press Box Playmaker", who did a great job helping me with last night's "Clubhouse" show at Colony Grill, made one simple statement: he thinks Bruce Springsteen is awful, and John Mellancamp is better.

Ho...lee...f***.

I mean, opinions are like, you know, but...really?

I'll spare you the build up.  I'd take Bruce's WORST song over ANYTHING by what's-his-name.

I've long-wanted to do a list of most overrated acts, and most overplayed songs.  No more suspense.  Winner, winner, mother-effing chicken dinner.

John Mellancamp..."Jack and Diane."  Admittedly, Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" and U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" are right there on the overplayed list, along with the Eagles' "Hotel California", "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin, "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd.  We could also throw in, maybe, "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd, "More Than a Feeling" by Boston, "Carry on Wayward Son" by Kansas and "Walk this Way" from Aerosmith (both with and without Run-DMC).  Then we could also say "anything by Bon Jovi", "1999" by Prince, and certain songs from Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey (ugh...double ugh), and ahem, Celine Dion.

Oh, I almost forgot about both "Start Me Up" and "Beast of Burden" by the Stones, and virtually anything from Bad Company.  And, yes, I read one poster say "Yesterday" by a little act called The Beatles is very overplayed, though, as he noted, much of that was due to the fact that it...is...the...most recorded song.  Ever.  There are so many cover versions that I expect Chris Erway to eventually release one.

Interestingly, this discussion board post from 2009 seems to agree, and throws in "Glory Days" by The Boss, though I think "Dancing in the Dark" is more overplayed (although it is sounding better in concert - and I've never liked that song).

Yet I'd rather have "Dancing in the Dark" on replay then "Jack and Diane."

Or anything else by John Mellancamp.

I don't get it (that's another list - things I don't get, including Jackson Browne).  This clown is even in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, brought to you by Jann Wenner.  But, as anyone can tell you, that RnR HOF is a sham.  Cool museum (I was there in 1999), but hard to call it legit with Madonna included, along with the object of my ire.

Others share my feeling about him - he made this list of most overrated acts from 2006.

I think, when it comes to someone like John Mellancamp, the overplayed factor goes hand-in-hand with the overrated piece.  I actually like a few of those overplayed songs that I mentioned above, but there is something about Mellancamp that bothered me from day one.  Yeah, for a moment or two, I could tolerate "Pink Houses" or "Rain on the Scarecrow", or "Authority Song", but then you heard them again.  And again.

If you were around from, say, 1984-1986, you know what I mean.  Soon, he became the very definition of "Indiana Springsteen" to me.  A poor imitation, to be sure.

Bruce can rock.  He can roll.  He can get you into a trance during a live show.  He can raise you up like a preacher in a Baptist church (PRAISE GAWDAH!).  And he does it without smoke bombs and whatever else.  As for the songs, wow, what else can be said?  Brilliant.  I mean, if we're even going to battle this Springsteen/Mellancamp debate, then let's have at it.  How can these five songs be topped?

1) Born to Run (duh).
2) Jungleland (Clarence Clemons solo is reason enough).
3) Rosalita (Come out Tonight). (Pure joy.  Fun.  My son's favorite Springsteen song.)
4) Thunder Road (I hate to pick three songs from one album, but...wow...)
5) Darkness on the Edge of Town (starts with a thump, then explodes with the chorus).

Then there's the very underrated "Bobby Jean" (really the only song from Born in the USA that I'm a fan of), "Wrecking Ball", "Kitty's Back", "Candy's Room", "Tenth Ave Freeze Out" (hear it live with the tribute to Clarence and you will yell, clap, and cry), "Tunnel of Love", and so many others.  "New York City Serenade", "Incident on 57th Street", "Trapped", "Atlantic City", "The River", "Badlands", shall I go on?

Sorry, nothing in the Mellancamp canon can match that.

As always, it's all about opinions.  Some overplayed songs and (arguably) overrated artists are perfectly fine, and it's in the ear of the beholder.  Somewhere along the line I had had enough of hearing him and his music - seeing him looking so smug in interviews, with the cigarette in his hand (that's ANOTHER rant).  But I also know he is a very patriotic American, and has done a lot for veterans (and he was once on with Don Imus playing music to support the troops - I can respect that).

But all I need to hear is Jon...my brother...Lisa...and Kato...and I feel it come back.  And then...THEN...have Kato tell me that John freaking Mellancamp is better than BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, and I sense that we need to call 911.

Stat.

I put him in that list of Cyndi Lauper, the already-mentioned Bon Jovi, and a few others that boggle my mind.  I'm amazed that they stay relevant.

To each their own or, to use a saying that I love (thanks, Kenn Tomasch): "Your mileage may vary."

No Motivation

I'm having trouble getting fired up for another day.

We are supposed to have such storms that the clown governor of New York (anyone named "Cuomo" generally earns such lack of praise from yours truly, truth by told) issued a press release warning all of us to take precaution or whatever.  Build a bomb shelter, or load up on bottled water, or something like that.  Not really sure.

I'm not criticizing him for doing so.  I'm sure his heart is in the right place.  Or he's covering his ass (as in "liability").

So I have to pull myself together and make something of this day.  Perhaps - call it a hunch - I'm just exhausted.  Yes, let's go with that.

On the more positive side, thanks to everyone for the likes and kind comments that both Lisa and I received the other day.  As I said in the post, I know her putting a relationship status online was a big step for her.  I wasn't sure that we would do that, but she felt the urge and went with it.  I also know she even felt a little awkward about posting the link to the post on her page.  But what I know about Li is that she often thinks everything through before making her decision.  I know that feeling as well and can understand it completely.  As I also wrote, I thought about not being as public, but really, why should I change now?

Hard to believe but August is just a few days away.  I've stayed very busy this summer with "The Press Box", but also with "The Clubhouse" (in my "third wheel" status).  Sadly, it seems my Hudson Valley Renegades days are over (hey, it happens), but August is the time in which I begin to get fired up for high school football.  Before we know it, practice will begin, and I'll prepare for year number 13 at the mic for Greenwich High.  As always, I find myself trying to improve the broadcasts.  It's often tough - especially given that the WGCH team has lives outside of the booth.  Chris Erway, for instance, doesn't get out of work until 6:00.  That makes it tough to get to games that begin at 7:00.  In fact, we all jump through hoops, with Ryan DeMaria and I being the ones with the longest commute.

No complaints.  We love what we do.  Plus we're talking around the WGCH homestead about growing the sports product.  That, of course, keeps me hopeful.

Huey Lewis is doing several shows in the area (some with Joe Cocker).  Bethel Woods, PNC Bank Arts Center and Jones Beach are among the metro-New York stops.  They stopped by Jimmy Kimmel's show recently (sans The News).



Well, let's see, what else?  The Yankees worry me, and I'm intrigued by the addition of Ichiro.  Weird to see, for sure.  The Steelers just opened training camp yesterday.  Their division is stronger, but I still like the Stillers chances.  By the way, anybody have a couple of tickets to the Steelers game at Giants Stadium later this year?  That would make for a nice birthday present!

OK, perhaps motivation is starting to hit.  Feeling alright, I guess.

I finally bought a new camera (yay, me) from the "life is too short" category.  Here's a test image - taken last night at Colony Grill in Fairfield, CT, where Chris "Kato" Kaelin, Sean Adams, and I were setting up for "The Clubhouse."

And, with that, I'm out of here!

Maybe I Should Explain

There's no law.  Nope - I checked the books.  Social media?  Not that I can tell.  Justice system?  Negative.  So I feel like it's time to open up.

I've been called "secretive", which is a mean way of saying "occasionally private."  Yes, I don't reveal everything to everyone.  Sometimes, I just plain forget.  Don't be fooled by my memory.  It forgets things - a lot.  But that's a different rant for a different time.

My writing has been stagnant lately.  Certainly I've been off my game.  I could have written some from Cape Cod, but didn't.  Even since I've been back, I haven't done much.  I thought about why, and concluded that I had personal stuff on my mind, and wasn't quite sure how to address it - and so, I didn't write much.

Maybe I should.

Last Wednesday night, after talking about it earlier in the week, Lisa (I've mentioned her, no?) put our relationship online via Facebook.  I know that is a huge step for her, having dealt with stuff in her past (that is for her to discuss, or to give me the OK to discuss, so let's leave that here).  I, of course, bring my own baggage.

But after not making it "official", we did.  We both said it didn't matter much to put it online.  Sometimes, if not handled correctly, it looks so childish; so high school.  But as Lisa said, "we're in a relationship.  That's the fact."  So it's online, and I'm pleased.

I had been more public in my "previous life", and had wondered if I might be more low-key about this one.  Reasons for that were various, but in the end, I decided that I shouldn't change.  It's OK.

So who is Lisa, and how oh how did this happen?

Lisa is a friend of my cousin (Kris) and his wife (Lori).  I was introduced to her back in my single days (October, 2009, to be exact) - after I finished broadcasting a football game at Harrison.  We met at her job, spoke for a moment, and I was told to give her a call.  We went out - exactly three times - to Starbucks, over a span of about five months or so.  We seemed to like talking to each other, and could spend hours on the phone just jabbering away (I don't do that with too many people).  But each meeting (I really don't think of them as dates) got colder.  Something was amiss.  We would say hello to each other via messages a few times, and see each other at Kris's birthday party in June of 2011.  As I recall, it was a fairly awkward thing.

Of course, Lisa and I were off living our separate lives by then anyway.

By early 2012, things had changed.  I was at Kris and Lori's in April when I jokingly suggested that Lisa should join us at the Easter dinner that I had been invited to (little did I know that she was already invited).  Lisa didn't make it (and didn't know I was going to be there), so I figured nothing had changed.  Then I sent her a text as I drove out of her old hometown of Amenia, NY a few days later - and received no response.  I figured for sure that Lisa wanted no part of dealing with the mess that is me.

At least that's what I thought.  The truth, of course, is always different.

I met Lori for dinner not long after so that she could bring Sean's bicycle to me and as Lori went to take a sip of coffee, I asked how Lisa was.  It was then that I thought Lori was going to choke on her favorite beverage.  She told me that, although she wasn't playing "matchmaker", she had spoken to Lisa, and that Lisa didn't get my text (her phone was busted, it turned out).  They spoke about me, and other stuff.  Turns out, she would always read my Facebook page.  She liked me!  And so...

I said to Lori: "You're telling me that I should give Lisa a call."  Without saying a word, Lori put her head down to sip her coffee, and nodded.  Yes indeed.

I should tell you that I wasn't thinking of getting back into a relationship.  I felt that I was in a time in which I was going to enjoy friendships and figure some stuff out.  But fate - oh the wicked, fickle finger of fate - has a way of playing the cards differently.  Lisa could tempt me to jump back in.

So Lisa and I did talk on the phone...and didn't stop...for four hours.  It was like we had picked up where we had left off, and yet, it was different.  She was different.  Nothing cold.  Completely interested.  We decided that we should get together, and go to a drive-in movie (my first - YES - first).  We met at her job (seemed safe) and headed to a park to take a walk where we passed a nice waterfall.  We stopped and talked, and made our way to a diner (nothing fancy) for a bite to eat.  She made it quite clear that I had to pay on the first date (I laughed at that).

I'm sure you have questions about other things (don't worry - Lisa did also), but I simply think I can't reveal all (yes, I did reveal to Lisa).  Stuff happened and it was time for me to move along.  Time to see where things go.  I don't think those stories are pertinent here.

Have I mentioned that I hate questions?

Anyway, we went to the drive-in (Overlook in Poughkeepsie) and saw the Zac Effron dud The Lucky One, and made fun of it as we sat in my car.  We started watching the second movie (The Cabin in the Woods) and soon bailed.  Date over.

Lisa went to her first Yankees game (!) a few nights later and, without expecting it, that turned out to be date number two, as one of her friends bowed out - leaving the ticket open to me.  And that, friends, is kind of that.

We've worked through the details over these past few months, and you've seen and read about some of our early adventures.  Lisa is a nurse.  She's blunt, sensitive, can be shy, likes to laugh, loves to travel, is smart, always late, and though she has no interest in sports, she never misses a "Press Box" show.  She loves cats.  She loves music (we differ on some musical choices though - John Effing Overrated Mellancamp?), movies, and so on.  She likes to be active, and when she's on can ride her bicycle for miles (and hours).  She's good for me in that way, and others.

She loves the movie Avatar and wants me to see it.  I never had any interest.  She also likes "The King of Queens" on TV, while I...well...don't.  At all.  Yet we sit and watch "The Big Bang Theory" together.

We have things in common, and we have differences.  All good.

She's never had children, but likes Sean a lot, and is good to him.  That, of course, is huge.  It's no secret that Sean and I are kind of a package.  Her kindness and patience with Sean is incredible.

She also likes my writing, and encourages me to write about anything (including her).  She trusts me, and that's huge.

We're still learning.  Trust me on that.  There's no jumping the gun, but there's also no denying things.  So far, we are simply having fun and trying - hard - to not over analyze and over think things.

And so it is that, if you haven't figured it out, all of this is what this post was about.

We haven't been back to Starbucks...yet.

Hanging on the Cape

Cape Cod.  The Cape.  Visions of the Kennedys, high society, miles of beaches, souvenir shops, and, yes, a paradise of debauchery emerge.

After talking about going for many years, I crossed the line late in the evening of July 8th, making the approach to the Bourne Bridge.

But it wasn't that easy.  Never is, is it?

We got a late start - hitting the road at 6:45 on Sunday night...and arrived in Eastham, MA at our wonderful house (some might call it a "cottage") just before midnight.  Traveling in two cars, with Sean and I leading the way and Lisa behind us, we made a few stops, including at the rest area just outside of Sturbridge, MA where we wondered if they had to go find the meats to make our sandwich at a farm.  It shouldn't have taken that long!

So Sunday was, for intents and purposes, lost.  We settled in - Sean crashing on an air bed and Lisa and I opting for a small tent outside of the house on the deck.  Too small, in fact, as my restless sleep sent me inside to the couch (my call, not hers).

Monday was the first true day of the trip.  We needed to settle in, get acquainted, and let the fun begin.  That's exactly what we did, staying near the house for some relaxation, including hanging out in the always comfy hammock.  We would meet up with our good friends Mick and Gretchen that night for a seafood dinner (though I think we would all agree that it wasn't exactly the best that the Cape has to offer).

Tuesday was our day!  So it seemed, as we climbed on our bicycles for the trek to Coast Guard Beach.  The obvious advantage to traveling like this is that you don't need to pay to enter any of the beaches.  Bring a car, and bring your $15!  So we traveled via two wheels and, while I'm proud to say that we survived, it was a survival of the fittest (and most sane).  Sean is still very much in the learning stages of riding a bike and this was, by far, his biggest adventure yet.  And still, with the uber-patient Lisa next to him, he did so much better than he thought!

This was the payoff: the first view of the Atlantic Ocean, which, despite having a great white shark hanging out not too far from here a few days earlier, was cool and comfortable on this day.  While not a beach person per se, I'm getting a little more comfortable out there (and bought myself a sun shelter and a chair with a canopy to keep me from sunburn), I'm beginning to really enjoy the beach.  Honestly, I didn't want to leave, but given the ride back to the house, we knew we must go.  Lisa left us in case she needed to drive a car to pick us up (it took her all of about 20 minutes to get back to the house - freaking experienced bike rider), and Sean and I took...um...an hour (if not more).  I love my son, but he might be the first child to walk a bike DOWN a hill!

For dinner that night, we went to the Orleans Inn, just down the road in Orleans.  Sean liked the pager that he was given.

I liked sitting on the deck, enjoying the clam chowder, and this amazing picture of Lisa, who says she's not photogenic (sigh).

Oh, I might have missed a detail of Tuesday.  Heading back to Monday night, I set up a larger tent for Lisa and I to stay in, leaving the smaller tent to Sean.  We all woke up Tuesday to the sound of lawn mowers - OK, nothing unusual there - except that these lawn mowers were roaring around "our" yard, and shooting grass all over everything: the tents, the house, and the cars.  And they shot rocks at our cars, breaking one of Lisa's windows!

In the end, it was a minor issue, as insurance and a local glass company had the whole thing fixed by Friday afternoon.  But still, it was annoying at the time.  Best to stay calm, and I think we did.

Tuesday night, we tried to play mini-golf and a few things were learned: A) sometimes, I can play pretty well (hole in one on my first shot of the round).  B) I can also fade when ruffled (especially by a child).  C) Lisa, who hasn't played in 20 years, is good, but... D) She's also a little competitive.  I want to play real golf with her, but not if I want to dump an adult beverage on her head to stop her smack-talking.  And all of this leads me to E) Sean.  Sigh.  That kid expects to be perfect every time.  Noble, indeed, but not possible, especially when he is ten and never practices and is always putting himself in competition with me, who has been doing it much longer.  Result?  He didn't even come close to winning, and I didn't come close to winning by a larger margin.

It's supposed to be fun, no?

Now we're onto Wednesday.  More beach time, we hoped.  This time, we would head to Massachusetts Bay.  I let Lisa serve as tour guide for this trip, while I get comfortable with the Cape.  She recommended Great Island in Wellfleet, where we would walk a bit but the dunes would be cool and the beach would be nice.  So we parked.  Then we walked, and enjoyed the view.

Then we reached a sign that said, essentially, that particular beach was closed due to something related to nesting birds.  The only available beach was a mile away, which we tried to walk for a bit.  It got hotter...and the sand began to burn...and so on.  Sean and I stayed game (but I think we all knew the reality was that we were going to leave).  Lisa gave the word and we bailed.  Fast.  FAIL!  But not before Lisa and Sean changed shoes.  To be honest, Lisa, who has a thing for camouflage, just wanted to wear Sean's came flip flops.

We tried First Encounter Beach in Eastham and while we hit the water for some fun, we were also getting eaten by these nasty greenheaded flies.  We were done.

On occasion, we were break things up by hitting the beach near "our" house, allowing us the advantage of being close to home, and still being able to relax.  Beaches and pools both have their drawbacks.  The pool was in the ground, with a depth of eight feet, with a comfy temperature.  We spent some of Thursday at that very pool before jumping in the car to head to Provincetown.

If you're not open-minded, you might want to skip P-town.  As I'm teaching my child to be respectful of all people, I can say we had fun.  Now I will admit that my goal of driving to P-town was to see the end of US 6, my hometown road that begins in Bishop, CA and rolls 3205 miles across the US, passing through the heart of Mahopac (along with sub-route NY 6N).  It used to start at the Pacific at Long Beach, but was truncated (foolishly) in 1964.  I'll have to go back to Provincetown to really get a feel for the eastern end/beginning of US 6, because I drove to the end after dark.  Signage was absolutely terrible (from what I could find).

Just a note...this is NOT the historic route of US 6.  This actually is US 6.  Damn.

On Friday, we headed into the town of Chatham, a beautiful village, extremely typical of what one expects Cape Cod to be.  Some nice shopping, some trendy restaurants, and a lot of money.  Personally, I'm not complaining.  I enjoyed it.

Sean and I grabbed some time to visit the Marconi Beach area on Friday night, where Guglielmo Marconi worked to establish wireless communication across the Atlantic in 1903.  That, of course, was interesting to me.

We found it, but it wasn't all that exciting.  Still it was cool for me to see.

Saturday was a day for more pool time, but we quickly pulled ourselves together to run to Skaket Beach in Orleans to see the tide go out and play in the bay!

Lisa and I sat and talked (and listened to the Yankees/Angels game on my phone!) while Sean built and dug and put crabs into his little "ecosystem" that he built.

But as this is me, and I love all things baseball, we went to the Orleans Firebirds/Wareham Gatemen game.  I was in heaven...with the woman I care so much for (and, yes, we did announce that we're "in a relationship" on Facebook) and the son who is my world.  Watching my favorite sport.  Talking with some play-by-play announcers.  A beautiful night weather wise.  What could possibly go wrong?

Safe to say that I look happy, no?

But note to self: feed your weary fellow travelers BEFORE the game in the future.  Lesson learned.

Sunday, simply, was time to go home.  Nobody wanted to - we all agreed that we would have liked to stayed longer, and that we would like to do this again.  The chemistry is pretty nice between three of us, but we're still learning.

So much fun was had and, yet, we barely scraped the surface of the Cape.  It seems will, indeed, have to go back!

The Colorado Tragedy

Instead of writing inane posts about Cape Cod (I will, eventually, and they won't be inane), or bitching about clueless people (and other moaning), allow me to send you to this link from Deadspin, with news of the first "name" to come out of this mornings shooting in Colorado.

Her pen name was Jessica Redfield (given name Jessica Ghawi), and she wanted to be a sports broadcaster.  As her Twitter page said, she was "Southern.  Sarcastic.  Sass.Crass.Class."  And all she wanted to do was go see the new movie in the "Batman" franchise.

And now she is dead, along with (as of this writing) 11 other people, and dozens more injured (the number was said to be 50).  Included in the injured are an infant and another youngster, said to be six.  I'm just working off of what I've heard so far, and we can debate why such young children were at a violent movie, being shown at midnight, but I don't think we're here to have that discussion.

This is sick.  Sad.  Pathetic.

And now we have a face to put with the tragedy. 

More will follow.

Back to Reality

I literally have about two minutes to say that I'm back from a great week on Cape Cod.  Sadly, I have to go straight from this to work.  Lisa is already working, and both of us aren't exactly feeling our best this morning, likely the work of either rogue pizza, or a bad cupcake that we bought before leaving the Cape.  Whatever.  Makes returning all the more painful.

Anywho, I will dazzle (or bore you) with stories from the trip when time allows.  I'll also be back in the power chair on "The Press Box" tonight.

Oh what I would give to be back on that beach above (Coast Guard Beach - nice place).  But duty calls.

Sigh.

What's not "Breaking" and Other Linky Dinks

A few random thoughts as I wait to begin my vacation...

I've belonged to a couple of text distribution lists for so-called "breaking news."  Specifically, ESPN, LoHud (the Journal News) and CBS-New York.

Folks need to go back to the drawing board to figure out what's breaking.  Edward R. Murrow is spinning in his grave.

See, here's the thing.  With ESPN, they're going to give you stuff that is related to them at the Worldwide Leader.  For instance, they'll let you know that a soccer quarterfinal is starting on their airwaves in about 20 minutes (yawwwwNNNNNNN...ZZZZZzzzzzzzz).  Or Wimbledon, which they now air.  On the plus side, they'll also send you final scores of your teams and other such stuff.  But quite often their version of breaking news is lame.

That leads me to LoHud.  Oh boy, I can't wait for another text on whether or not alcohol was found in the body of the ex-wife of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  Or an accident on the Hutch (somewhat useful, I would say). 

I guess I'm from a different era.  The mere sound of the "breaking news" stinger theme interrupting a show could - and still does - reduce me to chills.  What could be happening?  Something related to the President?  Our safety?  What?

And then...nothing.

Listen to the NBC theme music that begins this montage.  Yikes.


The rest of the montage is interesting as well.

We know the deal: networks (and newspapers and tv and radio stations) are all out to be the one to break a story.  But my god, make sure it's legit!  My old News Director at WGCH, Jim Thompson, had a couple of carts (like 8 track tapes) lined up.  They had varying degrees of audio on them, including "special report" and "BULLETIN" (which was only to be used in case of war or something severe).

Anyway, I'm rambling.  Bottom line, I've backed off of those text lists.  I was able to change what I receive.  We'll see how it goes.

Elsewhere...Behind the Steel Curtain wishes a happy 79th birthday to the Pittsburgh Steelers, founded on this day in 1933.

Look at the clown in the red Red Sox jersey at the top of this post from Chad Jennings on the LoHud Yankees blog.  The Sox have yet to beat the Yankees this year (though they did win that game last night) and this moron is giving it to Phil Hughes.  Says a lot about fans, doesn't it?  Not just in Boston, but Philly, New York, and elsewhere.  Sadly, a lot of bad fans are out there.

I mentioned my friend Gretchen, who just celebrated her 10th wedding anniversary with her husband Michael.  She put up a bunch of pictures from their wedding in front of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming.  Scroll down for a group shot that includes a lady holding a four-month baby named Sean, and Sean's dad.  Flashback!

I'm happy that the Renegades are back on the radio, as they have landed on WKIP in Poughkeepsie.  Ken McMillan has the news.

And there's bridge work going on in Richmond.  Who better to document it from an historical point of view than Jon?

OK, time to hit the road!  See ya!

Still Hip to Be Huey

Happy birthday to one of music's good guys, and leader of one of our underrated bands:

Huey Lewis.

I need say no more.  We need music.  But first, how about a movie reference (big weenies won't let me embed it)?