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Friday, March 29, 2024

Rant #3,321: Music, Music, Music

I have not done this in quite a while, but it is time for some self promotion.

I run a couple of Facebook sites, and you might be interested in two of them that I am going to highlight today.

The first one is "Where the Action Is, Yesterday, Today ... and Tomorrow," a site that highlights one of TV's great, but almost forgotten, music shows of the past, the Dick Clark-produced "Where the Action Is," which ran on ABC for two sessons or so, from 1965 to 1967.

The show was a Monday through Friday cornucopia of the best in rock and pop music of the time--less the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and some other huge acts that never appeared--and made stars of Paul Revere and the Raiders.

But the show was so much more than just the Raiders, having its own team of regulsr players, including Keith Allison, Tommy Roe, Tina Mason, Steve Alaimo, the Hard Times, Don and the Goodtimes, the Action Kids, and many others.

Predating MTV by more than a dozen years, the show became a TV destination for Baby Boomers, and many of the artists featured on the show weren't on TV elsewhere or only in limited appearances, including Billy Stewart, the Razor's Edge, ? and the Mysterians, and many others.

I try to bring out the eclectic nature if the show on the site, with a daily rundown of artists who appeared on the show along with a rare video of a musical performance, either from the show itself or from other shows of the era.

You can access the site at https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Wz8EJnMRYUkP9dRN/?mibextid=oFDknk

Then we have a site simply known as "45s," which highlights those 45 RPM singles that we all bought as kids and which I consider to be an art form in itself.

I have over 5,000 singles in my collection, and while the site isn't a daily one like the "Where the Action Is" site is, I try to put up new singles that I have added to my collection.

After a period of inactivity, I am trying to revive the site, and all are welcome to put up their own 45s or have discussions on this format.

This site can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/share/p/GPvr962aDAXwdyVJ/?mibextid=oFDknk

Both are fun, G-rated sites, and you might want to check them out.

Let's have fun!

I will speak to you again on Monday. Have a great weekend ...

And Happy Easter!

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Rant #3,320: Be True To Your School


I have no idea where my high school.yerbook is.

As I have mentioned before here, those four years I spent in high school--newly moved to Long Island, away from my friends, and pretty much not fitting in for my four years of education there--are a forgettable part of my life.

Those unhappy days greatly affected me, and honestly, I have blotted out just about everything having to do with high school.

I remember things in general, but I don't remember much in specifics.

And again, my high school yearbook has been missing in action for years, and I when we moved, it didn't turn up, either.

My junior high school yearbook is an absolute gem, absolutely defining the neighborhood I grew up in, both the good and the bad as well as the very good and the very bad.

This also was lost somewhere down the line, and I was lucky to get a high-grade exact copy of the yearbook from a fellow classmate.

I cherish this yearbook so much that several years ago, I put it up, page by page, on Facebook.

I was able to find my college yearbook, and my undergraduate school did not make it a requirement that graduates get their photo taken for the book, so a lot of the people I hung out with in college--much happier years than my high school years--aren't even in the book, nor are some non-seniors I was friendly with in college.

Graduate school--maybe there was a yearbook, but I never wanted one, nor did I go to graduation; I just waited to get my diploma in the mail, and that was enough for me.

But back to the high school yearbook ...

i just happened to go on the classmates.com site--an address i had not visited in probably more than a decade--and you guessed it, i actually found the yearbook!

I scrolled through it, and my feelings haven't changed.

Those years were bad for me personally, and at least to me, this yearbook doesnt mean much, and to my eye, all these years later, the book is pretty sour.

i remember some of my fellow grads via their graduation photos, and I do remember one imbecile who pushed me so much to the brink during those years that I actually had a fight with him in the middle of the hallway.

(We had to share lockers back then, and he was throwing my stuff all over the place ... I had had trouble with this brat throughout high school, and the full story about this episode is much longer, and I won't go into it now.

Let's just say that i proved my point.)

As for my photo, it really exemplfies how much i hated going to high school.

My hair--yes, i actually had hair--is a mess, due to my remembrance thst they took the pictures during a very windy and very warm summer day.

i walked to school to get the picture taken--it was just a few weeks before i got my driver's license--and when i got to where the photos were being taken, i didnt have a comb to make my hair presentable, so the photo shows my hair all over the place.

Most importantly, my smile is kind of forced. I just wanted to get the whole thing--both the photo and high school.itself--over and done with, and it shows.

(i also remember that all the boys were told that we had to wear a suit jacket for the photo, but on this blistering hot and windy summer day, myself and just about every boy did not wear long pants that day, we wore shorts and sneakers.)

Did looking through the yesrbook--even electronically--spur any good memories of high school? 

Did I get a kick about seeing myself nearly 50 years ago in a picture from the 1970s?

No, not really. 

Upon seeing some of the teachers, I wondered how many were still with us all these years later ... and I also saw a photo of a teacher thst spurred a memory that I would have liked to forget--that being that just about everyone knew he was having an affair with a student when he was in her 30s and she was probably l5 or 16 yesrs old, and yes, they did get married when she was of legal age, if I remember correctly.

What would happen today if such a situation existed?

No, I don't have many memories of high school, certainly not too many good memories at all ...

And I am just so happy that I once again could close the book on this period of my life--

This time, with a simple click!

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Rant #3,319: You Better, You Bet

This gambling thing somehow involving baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani and his former translator/confidant/best buddy kind of irks me.

The translator evidently had millions of dollars in gambling debts with a bookie, and if you want to believe the latest explanation of what went on, the translator, who has since been fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team that gave Ohtani his historic multi-year contract and oodles of cash, stole the money from Ohtani.

Ohtani, in an obviously carefully vetted statement made during an obviously hastily called news conference by the Dodgers, basically took the "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" way out by stating that not only didn't he know that his friend had robbed him, but that he wasn't a bettor himself, whether it was on baseball or any other sport.

And his buddy did not place any bets with the bookie for him; it was all the translator's problem, not Ohtani's.

Ohtani said this--through another translator, of course--then got up, without answering any questions, and walked away so quickly that you thought maybe he had to go to the bathroom --

Not to do #1 ir #2, but to look at himself in the bathroom mirror and wonder about what he said and perhaps, had gotten himself into.

Look, the guy is being paid millions as a baseball unicorn, a player who can both pitch and hit with the best of them.

Some say he is the face of Major League Baseball, which is hard to believe--and demonstrates why some believe that the sport is in trouble--because he evidently doesn't speak a word of English.

But beyond that, I have to wonder if Ohtani is telling the full truth about this situation.

I guess when you have millions of bucks in your bank account, what's a couple of million dollars thst can't be accounted for? 

It's not like the bank accounts that we peons have, where if $50 is missing, you see it immediately and want to know where it went.

When you have the money that Ohtani has, I guess you can't account for every penny that goes in or out of his account(s).

I am sure Ohtani has financial.people looking after his money--so why were there no red flags brought up by these people if they saw millions taken out of Ohtani's account(s) without any reckoning?

Or perhaps Ohtani did know about what was happening, unlike the innocence that he pled at the news conference, and was helping out his friend--even though the money thrown away went through a bookmaker, of all things.

I am not a betting person myself, but in this day and age, where betting is legal in many states--or better said, legal betting is easily available on a cell phone near you--I naively didn't even realize that bookmakers still existed.

And did you not think that something like this might happen--even in an age of legal betting--since betting on any sport is just so easy to do, and almost encouraged, right now?

Every sports broadcast running right now has gobs of commercials related to betting, some with up-to-date odds posted right there for you.

Like with the legalization of marijuana, some of our state governments are so intoxicated by the lure of tax dollars generated by these supposedly former "sin" categories now being made legal that they have lost their way in properly serving their constituents, and realizing that there are consequences to their actions that go beyond the almighty green.

You make these things legal, you have opened up a Pandora's Box of problems.

Even though these things are now legal--and lure new users each and every minute of each and every day--there remains an illegal market for gambling and pot availability, because the "thrill" of doing something illegal is still there for some people, and the payback might be more or better ... or st least those that go the illegal route think that way.

Plus, more importantly, some people simply can't handle these "fun" things, and they become real addictions, with everything that goes along with these things becoming a sickness.

Now, with the Major League Baseball season beginning tomorrow, the smell of the grass in the infield and outfield really stinks--

But with this lasseiz fare way we look at gambling right now, did anyone actually think something like this wouldn't eventually happen?

Major League Baseball is, of course. Investigating the matter.

Heaven forbid they find anything on Ohtani ... he and Major League Baseball won't be able to talk their way out of it, no matter if they try to talk their way out of a paper bag in English or Japanese or even Pig Latin.

The rules are in place for players to not gamble, in particular on their own sport, but how do you police it when you basically push gambling on every broadcast and throughout society, but forbid your players to do what many are doing anyway, legally or illegally?

Due to betting, major sporting events like the Super Bowl and the NCAA college basketball playoffs--"March Madness" indeed--are almost completely obscured by the betting angle, which has propelled these events to a level of idiocy that is truly difficult to fully contemplate.

Heck, we have a former president gleefully giving his college basketball brackets to the public each year, we have news anchors tearing up their brackets when they are busted, talking about it on the air as if it was an actual news story ... it goes on and on and on.

And this is betting millions upon millions of dollars on kids who are teens or in their early 20s yet.

Heck, you can even bet on professional wrestling--which is pre-planned and with the winners and losers pre-determined--if you want to.

As a sports fan, I prefer the game over the betting angle, and this Ohtani thing is obscuring baseball, my favorite sport, making the betting angle way more important than what is going on on the field.

Look, there have been betting scandals in sports across the decades ... the name Pete Rose comes to mind, pre-Internet, pre-legalization.

Way before that, we have the Black Sox scandal from more than 100 years ago, related to the throwing of the World Series, of all things.

Whether talking about Pete Rose  or Shoeless Joe Jackson or Ohtani, this has got to stop, but it won't.

So expect more betting problems cutting through sports in the future--

And you can bet the house on it.

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Rant #3,318: Total Eclipse of the Heart

We have coming up on April.8 the first total solar eclipse that we have experienced in 99 years.

I remember some partial eclipses--I distinctly remember watching one while in school.using some type of paper or cardboard configuration to witness this thing as it happened--but this will be the first total one that most of us have experienced in our lifetimes.

And you have to be very, very careful.

The eclipse will be viewable from Texas to Maine at different times of the day.

In my neck of the woods, the eclipse comes to New York at 3:16 p.m. and lasts until 3:29 p.m. or so.

And you can't look at it without special glasses which many outlets are giving out for free, and there are some other ways to see it, like that paper method I described to you earlier.

New York State camp grounds are sold out, because you can see the eclipse better in wide-open spaces.

And the public has pretty much been told to stay off the roads when this is happening, and I will bet that during the time of the eclipse, the world here is pretty much going to stand still.

You won't see very many people on the street, and I bet homes and businesses will close their blinds and people will just chill out while this is happening.

I can't go out without assistance due to my injury, so I will be indoors when this is happening.

I usually go out to take a walk and go to the area where our mailbox is located om around this time every day, but on April 8, I will take a break from that exercise.

My son has a day off on April 8, and he was going to meet up with a friend on that day, but at my urging, he has changed that date.

My family will be inside the house, with the curtains drawn, because we do not need any problems related to our eyesight related to the eclipse.

I know someone whose eyesight was affected by a partial eclipse, and believe me, no one should have to go through this.

I would rather err on the side of caution, if you know what I mean.

I mean, this is a wonderful happening thst we all can get together on as a society. 

But if you don't know what you are doing, or if you aren't into this event, I would just bypass it and stay indoors if possible.

The word is getting out about this right now, so the public knows about it, knows of the beauty of it, and also knows of the potential dangers of this event.

Personally, I'd rather see pictures and video of it the day after than when it is actually happening.

Again, I admit to erring on the side of caution, but that is the way I feel.

And you just know that people will try to film the eclipse with their phones.

Every report I have read states that it is not a good idea to do so, and only special cameras can actually record the eclipse successfully.

But you know how it is now: "Have Phone, Will Record Everything," and you just know that people will try to record this, and probably ruin their phone's camera, and possibly their own eyesight, by doing so.

And finally, what happens if the weather is bad, or at least obscured by pollution?

Well, if the weather is lousy that day, that is just the way it is.

And if pollution or other obstacles stand in the way of viewing the eclipse properly, that is just the way it is, too.

In New York State, less populous areas away from New York City are the prime areas to get the best view of the eclipse, so most people won't get a prime view of this event anyway.

And if you miss it this time, the next total solar eclipse is on August 23, 2044--

A significant day in my family, because my son will celebrate his 49th birthday that day--

And no eclipse will take any shine off of that day for him, I can tell you that for sure.



 


Monday, March 25, 2024

Rant #3,317: Enough Is Enough

I am not a royal watcher; in fact, I usually could care less about what is happening to these people across the pond.

Honestly, I just don't get the fascination we have with the royals at all; we could have had our own king, but George Washington and those that founded this country did not want to go that route.

But the media firestorm around Princess Kate Middleton's supposedly manipulated family photo that she released a few weeks ago piqued my interest as this mountain-out-of-a-molehill story crested into something much worse--

The 42 year old and mother of three young children, and the future queen of England, has cancer.

The Princess of Wales said in a video to the world that she is undergoing therapy and hopes to beat this thing.

She did not reveal what type of cancer it is.

Don't you think those that made such a worldwide kerfuffle related to the supposedly doctored photos of her family should feel completely ashamed of themselves now that the real story has come out?

Is there no shame anymore?

That question is a good one, and I don't know the answer to that query, especially after this mess unfolded.

Good luck to her; I am sure she will kick this thing through the goal posts and leave it all in the dust.

But those people who pretty much goaded her into the big reveal over utter nonsense; if their goal was to squeeze out from the Princess the real information, then they succeeded in doing so.

But at what price to their own consciences, if they, in fact, have consciences.

Now that the information is out, leave this woman alone.

Yes, she is a public person via her royalty, and eyes will always be on her, but the stare should not be as vigilant as it was, when she was being picked apart due to a family photo, of all things.

Enough already.

Let's put this story to bed and give this woman time to heal.

Friday, March 22, 2024

Rant #3,316: Electric Stories

I'm back after two up-and-down days.

As I have repeatedly said, when the Internet works, it is a wonderful thing, but when it doesn't work ... well, I can't think of anything more frustrating.

During the first day of the meeting that I had to cover for my writing/editing job, I was prepared as I could be, with my laptop, my tablet and my phone all at the ready.

The day's conference started at 8:30 a.m., and I went through the process of connecting to the meeting through Microsoft Teams.

I have to tell you, I used three different browsers and to my dismay, I could not join up with the meeting, which was held in Virginia Beach, Va.

I tried and tried and tried some more, and I simply could not get into the meeting. I was hooking up to Micosoft Teams, but it kept on telling me that someone would let me in, but it never happened.

I became very frustrated, and after about an hour of this, I was about ready to give up. During that hour. I contacted my superiors several times to tell them about the problem I was having--

And they had no solution to the problem, either.

Then incredibly, the picture came on out of nowhere--and I thought we had licked the problem.

But to my chagrin, the audio was "wtcfujrujndhkgfjjgg" ... it was completely inaudible.

I again contacted my superiors, and in the meantime, I lost the feed probably about three times in a two-hour-or-so span.

It didn't really matter, because I couldn't make heads or tails about what they were saying, anyway.

I pretty much gave up at about 11:30 a.m. or so, and I went on my desktop computer to do some work that I needed to do.

At this point, the video was fine, but the audio continued to be garbled ... but not as bad as it had been; this time, I could actually pick up about three out of every 10 words.

At noon, the meeting adjourned for an hour lunch break, during which time I sent my superiors a sound file of a few seconds to demonstrate to them that I wasn't losing my hearing, and that the audio feed was as bad as I had previously reported.

Now that I seemed to be firmly attached to the feed, I didn't want to disconnect, because I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get back on.

So I did the work that I needed to do, and as the meeting restarted at 1 p.m., I heard one of the moderators say, "can everyone find their seats" in a crystal clear tone.

So Voila! I was finally laser focused into the meeting, and the rest, as they say, is history. 

I assume thst technicians worked on both the video and the audio during the lunch break, and those efforts allowed me to finally settle into what I was supposed to do to cover the meeting.

The afternoon and the next day both went swimmingly, I somehow was able to cobble together a story less the morning session of the first day, and I sent in a halfway decent story even though I missed the early hours of the meeting.

This situation has actually happened before to me; one time, all who were tuned into the meeting had the same problem, and things got so bad that those running the meeting had to convene another meeting to duplicate what many people missed sitting at home trying to watch something of importance right smack dab in the middle of the pandemic.

So this has happened before to me, and it will probably happen again, because I simply don't think that these apps--Microsoft Teams and the like--are as trustworthy as we all want them to be.

They are full.of bugs.

This time, the situation had a happy ending, but that isn't a guarantee when things don't work out like we hoped they would.

And it just adds more agita to my mind, body and soul than I really need--heaven knows I have enough--and is annoying beyond explanation.

When it works, the Internet is a wonderful thing, but when it doesn't work--

Oh, the pain!

Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Rant #3,315: Take a Giant Step


I am trying to wean myself away from my leg brace, albeit very slowly.

During my examination by my dictor/surgeon last week, he told me that although I still needed the brace, when I was sitting around the house, I could keep the brace off.

It took a few days for that message to get into my head, but finally yesterday morning, I did as he said.

I am sitting here now typing this Rant out without the brace on, and I haven't had it on for a few hours now.

Without the brace on, my leg feels a bit tight in the knee area, but I noticed that when I sat at the counter in the kitchen to read the newspaper, my leg was not straight out, as it would be with the brace on; it was naturally bent without the brace, not fully bent but certainly more so than it would be with the brace on.

So I think that is good.

I still have to use the brace when I am outside of the house, and it will remain on every time I have to go somewhere in the car or when I walk outside.

I try to get outside of the house each and every day, and one of my jobs that I recently appointed myself to do is to go to the mailbox and get the mail--with either my wife or son with me--six days a week.

The development we live in has a common area which includes a mailbox section. It is a short walk from our apartment, but for me, it is a giant leap on my road to recovery.

Back inside our apartment, I am a little hesitant about what to do when I am sleeping. Do I keep the brace on or not? 

I simply don't know what to do about that.

The doctor also said that I would not have to wear the brace at all by mid-April, so what I am doing now is simply a precursor to all of that.

Look, I still have quite a way to go physically, mentally and emotionally with this injury, but I do think I am getting there.

Nothing is easy, and I am working on every facet of this situation each and every day, with varying results.

This has been a tough ride for me during the past six months or so.

I have learned that you just can't simply blink, and it will go away just like that.

It takes a lot of hard work.on all levels, but I think the mental part is the most difficult to shake, but like I said, I am working on it.

One day, I hope to look at the brace and say to myself, "Remember when?"

I am not at that point yet, but I do feel.like I am getting there ... slowly.

Baby steps ... literally and physically and emotionally ...

I will reach my goal, but I still have a lot of work to do.

Due to work obligations--I have a major meeting to cover beginning today and extending through Wednesday--I am going to have to skip the next two days of Rants.

I will need a lot of time to transcribe and write up a decent story about the proceedings.

But I will be back as good as ever on Friday, so speak to you again then.