Rant #1,991: Holiday

Tonight at sundown, Jews around the world take a brief pause from their everyday lives and celebrate Yom Kippur. 

In Rant #335, from September 17, 2010, I pretty much said everything that I have to say about this holiest of Jewish holy days, so I thought that I would rerun that Rant, which I have edited to bring it up to date.

Here it is.


"Yom Kippur begins tonight at sundown.

For Jews around the world, this is the holiest time of the year, the time where we pause to reflect on what we did the past year and how we can begin anew in the new year.

Even many non-observant Jews follow this holiday, and this is the only time that they venture into a synagogue during the entire calendar year.

Prayer and reflection are paramount here, as is refraining from drinking or eating or anything for the duration of the holiday.

Some Jews don't even bathe, watch television, drive cars or do anything but pray and fast during this period, which ends tomorrow night at sundown, or when the shofar is blown at Yom Kippur services.

I, personally, don't go to that extreme. I went to synagogue for many years, even though I don't go now, and although I don't go to shul, I do fast.

Fasting is not hard to do. Sure, it takes you out of your routine, but it really isn't that difficult to do for a day.

What is difficult is doing it while you are in synagogue. The constant getting up and sitting down--when the Torah is displayed--makes it very difficult.

I remember in the old days, you would hear women crying in the back of the synagogue. Not eating can do that to you.

I am the only one in my family who can fast like this, and I probably shouldn't continue to do it either. I do take a pill for cholesterol each day, and if I skip a day, who knows what it is doing to my insides. My wife said that I really shouldn't do it anymore, but I will do it until I can't, I guess.

As far as my family, my wife has tried and can't do it, my son the same, my daughter, I know she has tried, and my parents just can't do it anymore because of all the pills they take.

So it is left to me in my family to carry on this tradition. Alas, when I have to stop doing it, that will probably be it for my family.

I have to tell you, after I fast I feel very, very good. It is almost as if everything bad in my body has been cleansed out of it by fasting. I might have a little buzz headache, but this is something I have been doing continually since I was 12 or 13, so I am pretty much used to it.

(I admit, during two years I couldn't fast because I was sick.)

So to all my Jewish friends, and to all of those people I know who aren't, Happy New Year to everyone.

And it makes me feel good to say that."

So tonight into tomorrow, I will be fasting and doing little else. Since I am not going to synagogue, I feel that it is my duty to not eat or drink anything, showing my worthiness to God in my own way.

Sure, I know people will knock me, saying that I am taking the easy way out, saying that staying away from shul makes my fasting a bit false.

People have a right to their own opinions, but to me, one should never argue about how Jewish one is, how much better one Jew is than another.

And this should especially be forbidden during Yom Kippur.

Believe me, I struggled with deciding to not only not go to High Holy Day services, but also to not join a temple, but I have not been a part of a congregation for several years now, and I do not think that it has made me any less a Jew than when I was a congregant.

That being said, I wish everyone a good holiday, an easy fast, and a prosperous and successful New Year.

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

Classic Rant #645 (December 28, 2011): Downer Christmas, Part II

And you think what happened to me is an isolated incident?

No, I don’t think so.

There is a rise in anti-Semitic activity this holiday season, whether anybody acknowledges it or not.

Just several weeks ago, a Hassidic Jewish enclave in Brooklyn was attacked when several cars were set on fire and others were painted with swatstikas and other anti-Jewish venom.

Several synagogues have been desecrated recently with swatstikas and anti-Jewish hate.

I received my letter in the mail, with about as much anti-Jewish venom as I have ever seen.

Now I read that a man who was in mourning for his recently passed away wife has another burden to bear: his Hanukkah menorah, which has been displayed on his lawn for many years during the holiday season, was smashed to bits yesterday.

And this happened in a place called Plainview, one of the Long Island areas with a high rate of Jewish residents.

No, I don’t think the incidents are at all related, but there is a definite rise in anti-Semitism out there.

Just look at the Republican presidential candidates. Most of them are evangelical Christians, meaning that they don’t recognize the Jewish religion at all. They are out to convert us to their ways.

One candidate, Ron Paul, is so virulently anti-Jewish that I can’t believe that people are even considering him for the top spot in the land.

And people—and yes, I include many Jews themselves—accept this type of behavior. They look the other way when things like this happen, because it hasn’t happened to them.

But let me tell you, Jews that have so blended themselves into our society that they forget who they really are aren’t doing anybody any good—including themselves—with their behavior.

Yes, they are part of the problem, but the greater problem is answering the question, “Why is this happening in the first place?”

It is hard to pinpoint the reason, but I think that during tough times, scapegoats are always sought, and Jews are often categorized as the reason for whatever mess we are in.

That is wholly unfair, but to uneducated, ignorant people, that is what they believe.

And many Jews, by ignoring these incidents, just add into the senselessness of it all.

Well, I am not ignoring what happened to me. I did what I had to do—reporting the incident to the police—and when I hear of others who have been violated, it turns my stomach.

Both Jew and Gentile alike should be alarmed at these incidents.

If they aren’t, I feel sorry for them. Something is missing from their makeup that prevents them from being saddened by such incidents.

Hanukkah ended last night. The menorahs and all the decorations will come down, but my Jewishness will not be taken down at all.

It is who I am, what my family is, and what my ancestors were.

And if people don’t like it, that’s tough. I really don’t care.

Rant #1,990: Playboy

Hugh Hefner, the founder of the Playboy Magazine empire, died from natural causes at age 91.

The flamboyant magazine magnate had been in ill health for the past several years.

What can one say about this guy that hasn't already been said?

He took an idea--to meld the emerging sexuality of the 1950s with his experience working for Esquire magazine--and created Playboy magazine, and in the process, he developed a culture, one for men that craved the American dream, which included having a gorgeous woman on each arm.

He was as sexist as could be, but he was also a feminist in a way, seeing the vision that women could be both sex objects and firebrands of change, all at the same time. Heck, he stepped aside in the late 1970s and 1980s and made his daughter the empire's leader, and by doing that, he was really a leader of change in not only his empire, but in the country.

He made the Playboy trademark--the one with the rabbit ears--one of the most visible logos and trademarks in the world, one that, as years went by, became even more valuable than the magazine that brought this trademark to the public's eye.

He made sex magazines almost mainstream, taking a genre that had been around for decades before--mainly featuring prostitutes, low quality photography, and virtually no copy--into the domain of high quality from everything to the photography to the text to yes, even the women highlighted in the ubiquitous centerfolds, that now total in the many hundreds over the past 60 years.

He catapulted Marilyn Monroe to stardom, he helped Russ Meyer get a foothold on his moviemaking, he made Pamela Anderson a star.

He was a svengali, he was a genius, he was a pariah.

He was a cad, he was a pervert, he was an ogler.

One thing that Hefner was not was a phony.

He wore his heart on his sleeve as much as anyone did or could, and he stuck by his guns throughout his entire career.

In recent years, as age had sapped him of much of his zip, he became sort of a parody of himself, with a girl on each arm--girls that were young enough to be his great granddaughters--and he wore a nice little sailor hat.

He looked like the "dirty uncle" that many people thought he was when he was younger.

One wonders if he really knew what was going on with his publication, when it went from nudity to no nudity and then back again.

Subscriptions and newsstand purchases had fallen, one of his sons was in a power struggle to gain control of the publication back to the Hefner family, and Hugh--or at least his representatives--put the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles up for sale, with the caveat that even if it was to be sold, Hefner could live out his days there.

Some people will shrug their shoulders when they hear the news that he passed away.

Some people will think that he was already gone.

Others will mourn his passing as if somebody from their own family left this earth.

But with the passing of Hugh Hefner, a real game changer has gone onto his just reward.

Whether that reward lies in heaven or hell is up for debate, but at least most people would agree that Hugh Hefner changed our world.

He will be missed.

Classic Rant #644 (December 27, 2011): Downer Christmas

This will be a short Rant because I am not feeling too well today.

I had a lousy Christmas break.

Period.

I was sick virtually the entire time, and I still am.

I hope to make a doctor's appointment today, because as you can imagine, it was pretty impossible to get a doctor over the holiday.

On Friday, my first day off, I received a mysterious letter in the mail which had no return address.

I should have known this was going to be trouble.

Let me preface it by saying that a few weeks ago, I had a Letter to the Editor published in my local paper, Newsday.

The main crux of the letter was the lack of Jewish representation on network TV, but Newsday highlighted the portion of the letter about the popular coverage of Hanukkah, as opposed to Christmas.

Basically, I said that network TV shows ignore the holiday, and Jewishness altogether, unless it is used as a plot device.

Well, all hell broke loose with that letter.

About a week later, several replies were printed by Newsday, and they weren't pretty.

One person called my letter "anti-Catholic," and both Jews and Gentiles alike pretty much condemned what I said ... although I didn't think I said anything that wasn't out there already.

I mean, name me one Jewish family on network TV ... there, I have pretty much proved my point.

Anyway, fast forward to this past Friday, two days before Christmas.

I opened the letter, and there was this anti-Jewish diatribe that had to be seen to be believed.

It was scrawled--and I do mean that literally--across several sheets of paper, in often unreadable scratch. It was even worse than my own handwriting, which is pretty bad.

It blamed the Jews for everything, from the war overseas to 9/11.

It showed how all the evil people in the world are or were Jewish.

And it also included this final sendoff (paraphrased) "Most people in the world don't like Jews."

Very nice present for the holiday, wouldn't you say?

My wife had me call the police, and they made up a report on it.

On Facebook, I found that most people didn't want to acknowledge such a thing could happen during the holiday season, and I mean Jews and Gentiles alike--and mainly Jews, I might add.

I got ripped by both for even talking about this thing.

Of course, few of the people expressing displeasure at my nerve to posting such an entry forget that I called the police because I thought my family's well-being was in jeopardy.

I guess few people care about that when they are opening their presents and drinking egg nog and sitting by their tree--Jews more than anyone, by the way.

So I really couldn't win during this time off I had.

I got lambasted, and I got sick.

Oh, how I look forward to New Year's!

(I guess the rant was longer than I thought it would be.)

Rant #1,989: Searchin'

Today is September 27, the 270th day of the year.

During leap years, it is the 271st day on the calendar.

It is a pretty ho hum day.

I know that singers Meat Loaf and Shaun Cassidy share this day as their birthdays.

I'm not the biggest fan of either one--save Mr. Loaf's "Paradise By the Dashboard Light"--but I do wish both of them a happy birthday.

But they also share the day as their birthday with something else--something not human, something that you can't hold in your hand, an inanimate "thing" which is as animate as could be.

Today is the Google search engine's 19th birthday.

I will bet that you thought that it was around forever, but Google is still a teenager.

Two Ph.D students at Stanford University--Sergey Brin and Larry Page--developed this search engine that we all use on the Internet to find things that we are interested in, and while Google started out as simply another search engine, it has developed into a multinational corporation, with its speciality Internet services and products.

It has seemingly been part of our lives since the day it was launched, and that is why I will bet that most of us thought it has been around far more than 19 years, but it hasn't.

Some Internet rating services list Google.com as the most visited web address in the world, and even if such measures are often questioned, how can you doubt that?

Google is so popular that that actual word "google" has taken on new shapes and meanings. It has become a verb, an action word, as in "go google it" when you need some information about something.

As popular as Yahoo is, you never hear anyone say "go Yahoo it," so as popular as Yahoo is as a search engine, the word "yahoo" has never taken on a new guise as "google" has.

But it always wasn't known as Google.

In fact, one of its original names was "BackRub," believe it or not, and then when it was changed to "Google," it originally was "googol," but later changed to the form we know today.

It was different then the other search engines at the time, because it highlighted the relationship between one website and another.

Don't ask me to explain this; I can't. All that I know is that when looking for information, Google was quicker than the other search engines, and its findings were more to the point of what one was looking for.

And that is what made it so immediately successful, and why it continues to be successful today.

As I write this Rant, millions and millions of people are using Google to search for something, everything under the sun.

Some even use Google to look up their own names (yes, I have done this, on Yahoo too, and who can deny that they haven't done this at least once).

Personally, I have found that whatever algorithms it uses to find what it finds for you are often more to the point and complete than what you can find using Yahoo, but Yahoo is pretty good in what it does, too.

In fact, the one thing that Yahoo has that is much better than what Google has is a decent Web page, and honestly, that is where I start my Internet day each and every day that I use my computer.

But Google has stood its ground as probably the best search engine around. It does not need a Web page to validate this.

So happy birthday to Messers Loaf and Cassidy, and happy birthday to Google, too.

Let me look up both Loaf and Cassidy on Google and find further reasons to like them, too.

Classic Rant #643 (December 22, 2011): Snoopy's Christmas

A continued Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish friends, and a three-day-early Merry Christmas to everyone else.

Even though I am Jewish, I still occasionally get caught up in the frenzy of the Christmas holiday season.

And part of that frenzy is the music, more to the point, the contemporary music celebrating the holiday.

While there is scant little for Hanukkah—more than you might think if you want to look for it, but still not that much—for Christmas, of course, there is plenty.

Some radio stations jump onto this point with a loud crash, playing Christmas music—and nothing but Christmas music—from like September on.

Other stations mix it in with their usual fare, but during the week prior to Christmas, they mix it in ad nauseum.

But I’m one to talk. I have so many Christmas recordings that you might think I am a good goy, as in gentile. But I’m not, of course. I just have lots of Christmas recordings in my collection.

What’s my favorite Christmas record? Or more to the point, what's the favorite Christmas record of this Jewish guy (not goy)?

A year ago, I told you it was "Riu Chiu" by the Monkees, which really isn't directly a Christmas song, per se, but a Spanish folk song dating from the 1500s that the Monkees used on their Christmas episode. Thus, for the past 44 years, it has morphed into a Christmas recording.

And if there is a No. 2, it most definitely has to be "Snoopy’s Christmas”/”It Kinda Looks Like Christmas” by the Royal Guardsmen. Yes, the entire 45 that was released in 1967.

Both songs--and the Monkees recording--bring me back to a different time, so they are both nostalgic and Christmasy at the same time.

Although on their Christmas episode, "Riu Chiu" was never officially released until many years later. I will bet that if it was released in 1967, it would have been a huge holiday hit.

The Royal Guardsmen tunes are another thing altogether.

Dating from the same period as the Monkees’ tune, the A side of the single is simply a continuance of the band’s “Snoopy” saga, which would encompass at least four singles: “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron,” “The Return of the Red Baron,” “Snoopy’s Christmas,” and “Snoopy For President.”

(And I found two more: "The Smallest Astronaut" and the Royal Guardsmen reunion-related "Snoopy vs. Osama.")

It kind of blends bubblegum with the holidays, and it works to perfection.

It did not chart on the Hot 100 of the time, although it did chart on Billboard's Christmas chart. It has been a favorite for the past 44 years, and you regularly hear it during this time of year.

The B side is basically a standard Christmas song, but it works wonderfully with the more popular A side.

It's very light and fluffy, almost like aural snow.

The Royal Guardsmen kind of got pigeonholed into the Snoopy thing, and they aren't remembered for much else. But they did have several other terrific singles, including my favorite "Behind Enemy Lines."

But they will always be remembered for those Snoopy records, and I will always love "Snoopy's Christmas."

I still have the original single that I bought in late 1967 in my collection, and it still plays well.

So have a Merry Christmas everyone. I will take a few days off, and be back ready to look at the New Year on Tuesday.

"Christmas bells, those Christmas bells, ringing out from the land ... "

Rant #1,988: Real Love

I think that with everything going on today in this country and the world, what we all really need is some real love.

We got it back in 1996, and we need it again today.

What exactly am I talking about?

I am talking about the Beatles' last and final hit record, which was released a quarter century after they broke up.

"Real Love" hit No. 11 on Billboard's Hot 100 during the spring of 1996, surely a lower posting for an act that truly changed the world ... but coming a quarter century after their breakup in 1971, it was truly an astonishing placement.

The song was crafted upon an original 1979 demo by John Lennon, with new vocals and instrumentation added by Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr--a method employed just a few months earlier to bring "Free As a Bird" to the charts.

Anyway, while "Real Love" was kind of pedestrian and bland--and let's be honest about it, few would have even noticed its release if it didn't have "Beatles" on the label and part of the successful "Anthology" series--its sentiment is a perfect one, building upon the band's classic "All You Need Is Love" in a kind of unremarkable way.

I kind of liked the single, I kind of didn't, but like most people, I bought the single because, well, heck, these are the Beatles that we are talking about.

The method for crafting this song from a skeleton of a demo was new and brilliant at the time, but it since has been used by many artists to resuscitate music that, for one reason or another, could not be released when originally created, including by the Monkees last year on their "Good Times!" album.

Although there were a couple of examples of this on the record, the one that stands out is "Love to Love," an old Neil Diamond song pitched to the Monkees and recorded by them years ago with lead vocal by Davy Jones.

The song had been released here and there over the years, but for this album, it was taken with the late Jones' vocals and punched up with contributions from Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones and Peter Tork.

Yes, the Monkees do owe everything to the Beatles, even in making such a current recording possible.

But anyway, we all do need "Real Love" today.

We need to step away from it all, stop making everything political, and just take a deep breath.

We should wonder about how fickle Mother Nature can be, we should step back and wonder about Aaron Judge and his momentous home runs, we should look at our families and wonder about how much we love and care for them.

We should stop bickering and fighting over nothing.

Heck, I am as guilty as anyone about trying to prove my point, and while I will stick with what I have said, I am done with it, and I am moving on.

We should keep our beliefs, and voice them when necessary, but stop making everything related to a political diatribe, because it has gotten just soooooooooo boring and pointless.

Let's take "Real Love" and make it a starting point for slowing down and taking life in, because every day fighting and complaining about nothing is a wasted day.

And how many days do each of us have to throw away like this?

Classic Rant #642 (December 21, 2011)" Phil 'Em Up To 76 Today

Phil Donahue turns 76 today.

Although I often did not agree with his liberal politics, Phil Donahue, in my mind, is an icon of the TV talk show circuit.

Without him, there would be no Oprah, no Morey, no Ellen, and none of the other clowns who populate that genre today.

I used to watch Donahue's show--with a theme song by Don Agrati, better known as Don Grady from TV's "My Three Sons"--on occasion, when I was home, so I am by no means an expert on him.

But when I saw his show, I knew I was in for a roller coaster ride.

Whether he had on a famous politician or a porn star, you knew you were going to get everything Donahue had in him.

He was one of the first of the talk show hosts to run around with a microphone, trying to get the impressions of what was going on from his audience. He stuck that wand in front of their faces, and he let them speak their mind.

Donahue was as comfortable with important people as he was with the average Joes, and I think that is why people liked him so much.

I believe his very first guest was a young girl born without arms or legs. He treated her with dignity, and had her on several times as she grew into a woman to see how her life was progressing.

He had on transvestites, the latest TV and movie stars, everyday people with incredible problems, and the like.

And everyone seemed to like him, as his show seemingly went on forever.

And when he announced that he wouldn't do the show anymore, there wasn't this big fanfare like what Oprah wanted and got.

He just ended it.

Sure, he went onto cable TV, pretty unsuccessfully I might add, but when his regular show was over, that was pretty much it for him.

And I can't forget that I have always been a fan of his wife, Marlo Thomas, of "That Girl" fame.

So there you have it.

Have a happy birthday, Phil. You weren't the first TV talk show host, but you were certainly among the best of the lot.

Rant #1,987: Bits and Pieces

Welcome back to the Ranting and Raving Blog, the most honest blog on the Internet, in my estimation.

I don't pull any punches here, and I am certainly not going to pull any punches today.

And you are free to disagree with me, which also makes this a pretty democratic blog, too.

Today, there are a couple of stories that I would like to cover, but not in a full blog, so we have out occasional "Bits and Pieces" entry.

Here goes, and hit me with your best shot, if you dare.

National Anthem Controversy Continues: I am just going to say this at the outset of this mini-entry: NFL players who kneel and show disrespect for out flag and our nation in doing so have every right, under our Constitution, to do so.

If this is what they choose to do, then millions of other people can also make their own choice, whether to support this nonsense or take the players out for their stance (or in this case, their kneeling).

And again, I am not going to get into specifics here, but probably the saddest thing about this entire movement happened yesterday at the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Chicago Bears game.

The Steelers decided to stay in the locker room while the anthem was played, showing team unity by simply not being out on the field when the anthem was played.

That is, except for one player.

Offensive tackle Al Villeneuva, a West Point graduate and an Army Ranger, doing three tours of duty in Afghanistan, who while on duty protected the very rights that allows his fellow NFL players to protest while the anthem is played, came out on the field during the anthem, the only Steelers player to do so.

According to reports, the rest of the team, which was in the runway behind Villeneuva and out of sight of fans and TV cameras when the anthem was played, was somewhat miffed that their teammate defied the agreement they had to stay completely off the field when the anthem was played.

Here is Villeneuva's take on this, which was made in 2016 but certainly carried over to his decision to break away from his team during the playing of the anthem:

"I agree that America is not perfect. I agree that there are a lot of issues with minorities in this country. I agree that we should do something about it. But I don't know if the most effective way is to sit down when the national anthem of the country that is providing you freedom and providing you $60 million a year is the best way to do it when there are black minorities that are dying in Afghanistan and protecting our freedom for less than $20,000 a year."

'Nuf said.

Aaron Judge Nears Rookie Home Run Record: Onto other sports matters, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees has returned to his former pace in the first half of the season, and he has helped propel the Bronx Bombers into the playoffs, albeit the one-game Wild Card round.

Judge hit two more home runs yesterday in the Yankees' 9-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday, giving him 48 for the season. If he can hit one more in the team's last week of games, he will tie Mark McGwire's all-time rookie record of 49 for the season.

And since everything McGwire did during this career is subject to question, as he was one of the poster boys for PED use, I think the MLB would like nothing more than for Judge to shatter this record, taking McGwire out of the record books.

Judge is a smart, likable player with a tremendous amount of talent. He is in the top five of just about every offensive category this season, spectacular of any player but even more notable because he is, in essence, a first year MLB player, although he did have the proverbial "cup of coffee" with the Yankees at the tail end of last season.

In my estimation, his feats this season not only merit his consideration as Rookie of the Year, but also as the American League's Most Valuable Player.

Through his ups and downs this season--and he had a two-month span after the All-Star break where he was nearly invisible in the Yankees's offense--he has been the bellwether of the Yankees.

Where would they be without him?

You can clearly say that the Yankees would not be vying for the playoffs if he didn't do what he has done this year, and to me, that makes him not only the American League's top rookie, but also its MVP.

Team goals are more important, of course--and Judge would say that too--but c'mon, this guy has been spectacular this season, becoming his own "must-see at bat" every time he steps up to the plate.

Whether strikeout, base on balls or tape measure home run, this guy has energized baseball this season as its most exciting player.

He is the real deal.

Crazy Weather in the Northeast: If our backyard pool was open yesterday, we would have had a nice swim in it.

The pool has been closed for a few weeks, but the weather yesterday--at the beginning of fall--was summer-like, to say the least.

It was at or near 90 yesterday in most of the New York Metropolitan Area, which made it about 15 to 20 degrees higher than it should be during this part of the year.

Those of us who had put away the shorts just two weeks ago had to get them out again.

Yes, it was that warm yesterday and this weekend, breaking records all over the area.

We had to use the air conditioning again, and if you were outside, it was truly uncomfortable.

All of this is in comparison to what has been happening in other parts of the country, where hurricanes have left their unsightly mark.

It doesn't seem at all fair, but when has Mother Nature ever been considered to be fair and equitable?

The hot weather is supposed to continue to mid-week, and by next weekend, everything is set to return to the normal 70 degree area that we normally have this season, but suffice it to say that it has been nice to see Indian Summer come to our area, albeit it for such a short period.

My Job Prospects: Well, at least there is a smidgen of news to report this time around.

I actually had my first real, honest to goodness, face-to-face interview two weeks ago, and while it didn't lead to a new position, it at least gave me hope, something I haven't had in the 10 months I have been looking.

Yes, it took me 10 months to get a real job interview--that is how bad the job market is, so don't believe what you read in the newspapers about this market opening up and providing us with many new jobs.

Or maybe it is because I am of the age where employers simply don't want to hire people like me, I simply don't know.

But at least I can say that this interview was somewhat fair.

I knew I didn't get the position when I left the interview, but at least I did speak to someone who I thought gave me a fair couple of minutes of his time.

At this point, I guess that is all I can ask.

Speak to you again tomorrow.

Classic Rant #641 (December 20, 2011): Hanukkah, Hanukkah

Tonight is Hanukkah.

I know that for most of our culture this means absolutely nothing, but for many of us, this holiday, which begins at sundown tonight, reflects the culmination of a year's work, and the time to party and celebrate.
Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah.

I know to most people, this means absolutely nothing, but to us 3 percenters--the percent of the U.S. population that is Jewish--it does mean something, maybe more to some than others, since there seems to be a rising tide for Jews to celebrate Christmas. No, I don't get it either.

Anyway, on the Jewish calendar, Hanukkah is not a major holiday. But it is a joyous and festive one, celebrating the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean revolt, during the second century BCE (before the common era).

After the Jews regained control of the temple, they found that they only had one night's oil for their candelabra, their eternal light. Somehow, through some type of miracle, the oil burned for eight days, hence the celebration of Hanukkah for eight days and the use of a menorah to signify the eternal light.

It is a joyous holiday and a festive one, but, as I said, it is not a major holiday on the Jewish calendar.

That is the reason that many give for high-profile Jews basically ignoring the holiday, at least out in public.

But of course, that is nonsense.

Whatever anybody says, Hanukkah is a huge holiday for Jews around the globe.

It is a gift-giving holiday, a holiday where you reaffirm your family ties, a holiday that is to be celebrated, and not shunned, like some unfortunate Jews do.

Sure, it's always right near Christmas, and a lot of people believe that it is the Jewish Christmas.

Well let me tell you, it isn't. It has nothing to do with Christmas at all.

However, because of the actions of some high-profile Jews, many people think that Hanukkah simply doesn't measure up, that Jews celebrate Christmas.

Sorry, at least in my family, we don't.

Christmas is a wonderful holiday, with its direction very similar to that of Hanukkah.

But Hanukkah isn't the Jewish Christmas much like Christmas is not the Gentile Hanukkah.

No matter how much society wants the two holidays intertwined, one has nothing to do with the other.

On that note, I wish everyone a joyous Hanukkah. Eat lots of sweet things, get and give your presents, and feel content with who you are and what religion you are.

I know that I am content, very content indeed.

Rant #1,986: Fatberger In Paradise

How was your Rosh Hashanah?

Mine was fine, and I showed my worthiness to God by using it as a service day for my family.

I took on one project after another, without any stoppage, and I got everything up to snuff.

This included everything from my mother's computer, to my son's new Nintendo Switch (yes, we finally got it!), to my wife's flash drive, all things which weren't working properly.

No, I did not go to shul, but I did the next best thing, which was showing God that I am worthy, and that I should be granted another year to be even better, to improve myself, to be a good human being.

And I hope that God recognizes that.

Two of my brother-in-laws, and my mother, have had health issues lately, and they have all turned out just fine, so yes, God is good.

Now, on to other matters ...

You remember last Friday when I told you about the garbage-created fatberg that invaded London sewers? The thing was several football fields long, was made up of discarded diapers and wipes and other garbage, and it was clogging up those sewers to the point that London officials projected it would take weeks to rid its underlings of this thing.

Well, in the interim, a couple of interesting things have happened regarding this ball of congealsion.

First, a museum wanted at least some of it preserved, so that it could show it off to its visitors what happens when people throw the wrong things down the toilet.

Second, and most important, London officials now know what they are going to do when they finally extricate this mess from their sewer system: the 130-ton behemoth is going to be turned into 10,000 liters of biodiesel fuel.

Engineers continue to work to remove this gelatinous ball of waste from the sewer, and Thames Water recently announced that when they finally get the job done in October, they will send this mass to a specialist plant where elements of the goop will be turned into green diesel fuel, with Argent Energy handling this massive project.

A crew of eight is working seven days a week to remove the mass, using jet hoses to shoot water at it at such force that it breaks up, and is able to be sucked into tankers. Twenty to 30 tons of the fatberg is removed per each nine hour shift.

Evidently, this is not the first time that a fatberg has blocked the London sewers, and Thames Water has warned the public that "the sewers are not an abyss for household rubbish."

The amount of biodiesel fuel that such a fatberg could produce has been estimated as being enough to power 350 of London't double-decker buses for a day.

So, this story, although not a fairy tale by any stretch of the imagination, will have a happy ending after all.

Speak to you again on Monday. Have a nice weekend.

Classic Rant #640 (December 19, 2011): Wrestling To Get My Mind Off Of Things

Saturday was one of the strangest days I have ever experienced.

In the morning, we put our dog Max to sleep. He was a fine dog and I know he is in dog heaven now.

In the afternoon, we had some people over--my wife's side of the family--for a holiday get together.

And during the evening, my son and I saw a WWE wrestling house show at nearby Nassau Coliseum.

A house show is sort of like a pre-rehearsal or a dry run. You are not going to see any championship belts change hands, and while you will see some stars, you will also see plenty of bums.

The wrestlers are allowed to show more of their skills at these shows, because really nothing is on the line, except to put on a good show for the crowd.

And they did during the roughly three-hour show on Saturday night.

Playing to what I would say was less than half of capacity--TV shows and pay per views regularly draw sold-out crowds there and around the world--the WWE superstars put on a good show.

They played everything to the hilt, and wowed the audience--probably 75 percent kids from the ages of 5 to 16--with their moves, and with their mouths.

The good guys played that up to the max, the bad guys did everything bad guys are supposed to do to be bad guys--they put down Long Island, they put down the rickety Coliseum, they put down their competitors.

But the good guys won every match, the bad guys lost every match, and the WWE sold a lot of T-shirts.

Perfect fare for a cold December night right before the holidays.

My son and I had a nice time there. Our seats weren't that great, but we could see everything pretty clearly.

The crowd--the smallest I have every seen for a wrestling show there--was very loud and vocal, and cheered on their favorites and hissed and booed the villains.

And for me, it was a perfect tonic for what happened earlier that day.

Our dog sat by us many days that my son and I watched wrestling on TV. Every Friday, we would make popcorn as we watched the Smackdown show, and Max just loved popcorn, so we threw him some as we watched the show.

He loved it, he really did.

So as I watched the wrestling show unfolding before me, I did think of Max once or twice.

And I am sure in dog heaven, he really enjoyed that.

Rant #1,985: New Year's Day

The Jewish New Year celebration begins tonight at sundown with Rosh Hashanah.

Jews all over the world will meet with their families, and reflect on the past year, making sure they did things the right way during the year.

The New Year celebration ends next week with Yom Kippur, the absolute holiest day on the Jewish calendar, which is different than the calendar we normally use because it is based on the lunar cycle.

I spoke about the season way back in Rant No. 91, September 18, 2009, so let's revisit that Rant, in edited form:

"Tonight is the start of the holiest period during the year for Jews around the world. Rosh Hashanah commences this period, starting at sundown. This holiday continues for the next two days.

Next week, Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, commences, and lasts a single day,.

Although I am not a religious Jew by any stretch of the imagination, I do participate in these holidays. They are holidays that ask Jews to examine their strengths, and weaknesses, during the past year and to reflect on how they can improve themselves during the upcoming year. They are holidays of both introspection and group prayer. During Yom Kippur, observant Jews fast, to show their forgiveness to God, and also to show their strength.

It is with this understanding of what the holiday means that I have always had this conundrum with how the rest of the world should look at these holidays. Should the “outside” world recognize this holy time of year or simply ignore it?

Living in New York, where there are a large amount of Jews, has made these holidays pretty well known by the non-Jewish population. In fact, schools are generally closed during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

I once found out years ago that the reason New York City schools close on these holidays is that since such a large portion of their teachers are Jewish, it was not prudent to open when three-quarters of the teachers would be out.

This year, there are the usual myriad controversies revolving around whether certain events should be held on these holidays or not.

Professional sports leagues will go about their business during these holidays, and the Yankees have their game against the Twins today scheduled at 1 p.m. Although not specified, I bet a lot of that thinking for game time was that it shows respect for the holiday, although none of the Yankees' players are Jewish.

When my son was in Little League, the league would, every year, schedule games on the first two nights of Passover. Although Passover is not one of the holiest occasions on the Jewish calendar, it is a holiday which revolves around the family, and the traditional seder, and garners wide participation even among non-observant Jews.

The league, of course, never had a game on Easter Sunday.

His current bowling league also pretty much ignores the Jewish holidays, and will hold its bowling schedule next Saturday on Yom Kippur.

My workplace does not give me off for the Jewish holidays, even though the owner, who is since deceased, was Jewish himself. I have to take the day(s) off as personal days.

Is this right? Shouldn’t everyone be given days off to celebrate their most holiest of holidays, whether it be Yom Kippur or Good Friday?

However, should business stop because a major religious holiday is being celebrated?

I don’t have an answer, and it is something that has puzzled me for years. These are religious holidays, and thus, they are more personal than say July 4 or Labor Day are.

The bottom line is this: do we suspend our usual day's activities because a major religion has one of its holiest days to celebrate?"

Yes, that is the question to ponder today.

Whatever the case, to those who observe the holiday, have a wonderful Rosh Hashanah, and have a great New Year. I will speak to you again on Friday.

Classic Rant #639 (December 16, 2011): Done

Well, almost.

My wife and I have decided that our dog must be put down.

And we are doing it this weekend.

Our dog, Max, has lived a good life, but he has not been the same dog the past several months.

He has cancer, plain and simple, and a bum hind leg to boot.

The cancer is in his left side, and the tumor has ballooned to the point that he can't use his leg, and he can't hold his bowels.

He is 14 and a half years old. He is a mixed breed terrier and pit bull, but don't let the pit bull part of him fool you; he is about the nicest dog that you would ever want to meet.

He barks a lot, which puts people off, but he wouldn't hurt a fly.

Max has lived a good life as a house dog, but I think that time has just about come to an end.

We adopted him from a shelter after losing another dog to a variety of physical ailments, and unfortunately, due to financial constrictions, we are going to have to bring Max to the pound for disposal, just like we did his predecessor.

I would love to have the vet do it, but it costs several hundred dollars, which my wife and I don't have.

So it will be like a death march tomorrow morning, but we will march in a car to the dog death camp.

My wife can't bear this, so my father will come with me, as he did with the other dog.

Max is not pictured here, but Max was a handsome, lovable dog in his day. He had his quirks, but he always knew when he did wrong... and when he did right.

I don't know about other animals, but dogs do have a soul.

And this poor soul, who we are telling ourselves that we are putting out of his misery by doing what we are going to do, will go to dog heaven.

And he will be in our hearts forever.

See you, Max. We will always love you.

Rant #1,984: All of My Toys

No, there is no Hurricane Jeffrey this year.

But for toy chain Toys 'R Us, the storm has hit them, and hit them hard.

The nation's largest toy chain filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday, trying to handle its debts in this Chapter 11 move.

Toys 'R Us has 1,600 stores and 64,000 employees, and it says that even through this filing, it is business as usual at its facilities.

But the timing of the filing is kind of odd, to me at least.

Such a filing right as the holiday shopping season is ready to begin?

To me, that means that the toy retailer is in trouble, and maybe even tremendous trouble.

Brick and mortar retailing is not what it once was, and heavy competition from online retailers--including Amazon--is hurting this type of business beyond what few want to admit.

And with a toy retailer, trying to compete with online vendors--the hustle and bustle of a store versus ordering a toy in the comfort of your home at any hour by the push of a button--doesn't measure up.

I would think that somewhere down the line, Toys 'R Us will close its most unprofitable stores, leaving huge holes in shopping centers from coast to coast, since their stores take up so much space.

It will also put thousands out of work, which is never a good thing.

Yes, it is business as usual now, but for how long--that is the question.

And again, the timing of this filing is very curious; you would think that they would give this holiday season a whirl, and if it didn't turn out well, then file for bankruptcy.

To do this right before the season begins shows that things aren't just bad for the retailer, they are probably dire.

Will Toys 'R Us follow other major toy retailers--like KB Toys--into the dumpster?

It is too early to tell, but I wouldn't bet against it.

Personally, I have nothing but fond memories of Toys 'R Us.

With two kids, there was a time when a visit to Toys 'R Us was almost akin to a visit to the supermarket; I went there just about every week from the time my daughter was born in 1988 until my son was about 10 years old in 2005.

For my daughter, there was no better place to buy her favorite toys as a kid--Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures and other related stuff--and for my son, it was the place to go for Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars.

But when they grew older, we pretty much stopped going to these stores. There really was no need anymore, as they moved onto other things.

Even with my son, who got into video games, there were other places to get these games, and at cheaper prices.

As I am writing this, I can't think of the last time I was in a Toys "R Us, but it must be years ago, and honestly, I don't even remember the reason for my last visit to the retailer.

And with no grandchildren or any other kids to buy for in sight, I doubt that I will be visiting there any time soon.

So Toys 'R Us is nothing more than a nice memory for me now, but let's hope, for traditional retail's sake, that it doesn't become a memory, period.

Classic Rant #638 (December 15, 2011): One Day At a Time With Schneider

Another guy who had a tremendous influence on my youth is gone.

You might not know the name Bert Schneider, but he died on Monday at the age of 78.

No, he wasn't the Schneider from the TV show, "One Day At a Time."

No, this guy had a much more important role in Hollywood.

Bert Schneider was a key person in Hollywood's counter-culture movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The son of Columbia Pictures president Abraham Schneider, he somehow convinced his father that a teen-oriented rock show was needed on network TV, a show that would showcase the new, emerging talent that was playing out throughout the country.

Yes, there was "American Bandstand," and later, "Where the Action Is," but these Dick Clark productions weren't on in prime time. Schneider convinced his dad, sometime in 1964 or 1965, that the popularity generated by the Beatles could be compressed and repackaged in a half hour comedy show in prime time.

His father went for the idea, but who would star in show?

Jan and Dean were first mentioned, and then the Lovin' Spoonful. The Spoonful were what they were really going for--a lovable, daffy bunch who could play music--but then Schneider and his partner, Bob Rafelson decided that a created-for-TV group was more to their liking.

In 1965, an ad was placed for "Ben Franklin" types to audition for the TV show, and a horde of rock and roll types auditioned for these roles. Some were already established in the business, such as Paul Peterson, who was a star from "The Donna Reed Show." Others were just starting out, such as future Oscar winner Paul Williams.

But four guys were chosen, and the Monkees they became. Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork became overnight sensations, and solidified the newly named Raybert Productions as a force to be reckoned with.

Through the Monkees, Schneider and Rafelson brought long-hairs to living rooms around the world. The show was an unqualified success, and the music was among the best of the period.

And through this show, Schneider and Rafelson met Jack Nicholson, a partnership that would pretty much begin with the Monkees' film "Head" and which would continue for the next several years.

Using money that came from the Monkees project, Schneider and Rafelson were able to make "Five Easy Pieces and "Easy Rider," films that brought the counter-culture to the masses and which made people like Nicholson, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper massive stars.

He also produced other well known films, including "The Last Picture Show" and "Hearts and Minds," but it all started out with a little project called "The Monkees."

Schneider had been retired from the business for many years, but his legacy is an incredible one, one that most people really don't know about.

The films and TV shows that he was involved with live on on DVD, and his knack for capturing the moment really was pretty incredible. Of course, he had the proper Hollywood connections, which certainly helped, but his ability to launch new talent--remember, he also launched the career of director Peter Bogdanovich--was amazing.

Rest in peace, Bert. You done good.

Rant #1,983: Ride Like the Wind With the Name Game

OK, so we have two more hurricanes to worry about.

Hurricane Jose is supposed to not hit land, but to possibly effect the northeast with winds and rain, all starting tomorrow.

Hurricane Maria is targeted as a major hurricane, and will most probably hit the already devastated Caribbean later this week.

Haven't we had enough of these hurricanes already?

And hurricane season has several more weeks to go, so here are the remaining names for what are called "The Atlantic Tropical (and Subtropical) Storm" names for 2017, starting with the letter "N":

Nate.

Ophelia.

Philippe.

Rina.

Sean.

Tammy.

Vince.

Whitney.

There are no storm names for "Q, "U," "X," "Y"  and "Z" for whatever reason.

I guess there are a lack of common names to use for those letters, so they are simply skipped.

Hurricanes Quentin, Ursula, Xena, Yolanda and Zachary? I don't remember them.

Nor do I remember Hurricane Don (pictured), but it was one of the names used during the current 2017 season.

Evidently, there was some controversy in using that name, because some felt that it was used in a negative manner related to our President, Donald Trump.

But representatives of the National Hurricane Center said it had nothing to do with the President; it was simply a coincidence, as the name was chosen years earlier as the "D" representative for this year.

Some news outlets, including the Associated Press, nonetheless poked fun at the use of the name for a hurricane (even though I don't think it was fierce enough to be one, and only amounted to a tropical storm), but everyone would agree that Hurricane Don was happily a big nothing, and no one will remember it (no jokes now).

Anyway, since this has been a huge hurricane season in this part of the world, what happens if we have more than eight new hurricanes come up between now and the end of the hurricane season in November as far as names are concerned?

I have no idea if maybe they do go into "Q," "U," "X," "Y"  and "Z" or they simply start over with "A."

Let's hope that we don't have to deal with such problems, because the "A-W" (less Q and U) hurricanes have wreaked enough havoc themselves.

Classic Rant #637 (December 14, 2011): Patty Dukes It Out At 65

Actress Patty Duke is 65 today.

I find that hard to believe, but it is true.

In the world where people worship Lindsay Lohan, it is hard to believe that just about 50 years ago, people were holding Patty Duke in the same high esteem as they do Lohan today.

But it's like comparing apples with oranges, isn't it?

Duke was one of the younger stars of the pre-Beatles era who filled our minds just before we were going to get smashed upside the head by the four lads from Liverpool.

She was hot as a pistol. She won an Academy Award for her portrayal of a young Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker," and the world was literally her oyster.

She even had her own TV show, "The Patty Duke Show," and that is where I first encountered this young actress.

The show had not only one of the all-time great TV theme songs, but the theme song played off a gimmick: the versatile Duke played two characters on the show: a typical, nutty, fun-loving teenager, and her cultured, European cousin.

They would go to the same high school in Brooklyn Heights, but the fact that they looked so alike--heck, they could have been twins!--led to most of the show's comedy.

The show was funny in an almost subtle way. I know that I laughed out loud at this show when I was a kid, but now, the laughs are a little more subdued--especially when you know Duke's back story.

Duke suffered from mental illness, which was made worse by the fact that she didn't really know who she was until years later. She was mentally abused by many, and the realization that the Patty Duke everyone knew was not the real Patty Duke--her actual name was Anna--stifled her career after the mid to late 1960s.

Through all of this, she still acted, appeared on every game show there ever was, and continued to stay visible, especially during the 1970s when she was married to actor John Astin. She had several children, including actor Sean Astin, and the public persona pretty much took hold of the private persona.

She has come clean with her troubles, and, at 65 seems to finally be happy in the skin that she is in.

But as one of the first public personalities to come clean about her own mental illness, she was something of a pioneer.

So to Patty Duke, happy birthday, and many more.

And she is 65? I still can't believe it.

I guess she will always indelibly be in my mind as that wacky, crazy teen on "The Patty Duke Show."

Rant #1,982: Red Rubber Blob

In an instance proving that truth is often stranger than fiction, news reports are that a new, real-life “blob” has overtaken London's sewers.. According to these reports, British engineers say that they have launched a "sewer war" against a large blob of refuse that is clogging its sewers, and no, nobody by the name of Steve McQueen is among the engineers working on this project.

The word "blob" is defined as a formless mass, and this London gunk fits that description, consisting of congealed refuse--baby wipes, diapers and fat and oil. It reportedly measures 250 yards long--two and a half football fields--and weighs thousands of pounds. Engineers say that it will take three weeks to dissolve it and rid the London sewer system of its own real-life monster.

This real-life blob has been described as "a total monster" and its removal is "like trying to break up concrete.”

It almost sounds like a real-life version of “The Blob” featured in the 1958 film starring McQueen, but the London blob did not come from another world, it came from people flushing items down the toilet that should not have been discarded this way.

Fifty-nine years ago, Paramount Pictures released a low-budget horror/science fiction film called "The Blob," which was about an alien mass that crashes to earth from outer space and ends up eating up and removing citizens from the small town in Pennsylvania where it crash landed inside a meteorite. Each time it did this, it became larger, and eventually, it became as large as a building before it was overtaken.

As the movie moves along, the Blob is consuming everything--people and even brick and mortar structures--in its path. Through trial and error, McQueen, playing Steve Andrews, the film's hero, sees that the Blob recoils from only one thing--cold.

In an unlikely climax, he and a group of high schoolers get every fire extinguisher they can find in a local school and spray the contents of these extinguishers on the huge creature, freezing it until authorities can come on the scene. The Blob is then parachuted to the Arctic, where it presumably isn't destroyed, but is in some type of hibernating, comatose position due to the area's extreme cold.

The film was very successful on the drive-in circuit, has had a sequel and been remade, had a popular theme song on the charts, and the town where the Blob did its dirty work, Phonenixville, Pennsylvania, has an annual "Blobfest" to celebrate the movie.

Again, while there is no Steve McQueen in sight for the real-life Blob hitting London, it is pretty obvious that authorities want to do away with this mass for good, and do not want any return engagements or sequels to this situation it has on its hands.

And no, it is doubtful that London will have its own Blobfest to celebrate this mass of gunk any time soon.

Speak to you again on Monday. Have a good weekend.

Classic Rant #636 (December 13, 2011): The Incredible Hulk

It is incredible how Hulk Hogan's name constantly is in the news.

While 30 years ago, it was for all the right reasons--he was the top wrestler in the world, and his popularity helped bring professional wrestling to a new level--today, it is for all the wrong reasons.

The latest one is that the Hulkster--Terry Bollea on his birth certificate--is suing his ex-wife for defamation.

Evidently, Hulk's ex-wife claims in a memoir and in interviews to promote that tome that not only did he brutally attack her while they were married, but that he had an affair with another person.

And the other person just happens to be ex-wrestler Brutus Beefcake.

She claims the Hulkster had his Beefcake and ate it too, I guess.

Of course, Hogan says that this is nothing but a pack of lies from a vindictive ex-spouse.

"If any of that was true, I would admit it, and I was a homosexual I would embrace it," he is reported to have said in news reports. "It's just so crazy to hear, so I have a real problem with it. ... If you're going to say I'm something that I'm not to try to ruin my career and my livelihood ... I have to answer her back."

The Hulkster has been happily married to his current wife--who looks just like his former wife, but much younger, of course--for a year now, but his divorce has been anything but amicable.

Both sides have leveled various charges against the other over the past several months, and it doesn't appear as if it is going to stop anytime soon.

So much for amicable divorces! I can tell you from personal experience that there isn't any such thing. Both sides can appear to be pleasant toward each other, but let's face it, there had to be something to divide the two, and you just know that there is something kicking inside of at least one of them that makes the prospect of a "happy" divorce completely impossible.

Are the charges true? At this point, it really doesn't make any difference whether they are true or not. It is pretty much all water under the bridge.

Hulk and his ex are divorced, they have each seemingly moved on with their lives--his ex is dating a guy who is probably less than half her age--and that should be that.

But his ex keeps on bringing things up, negative things about the Hulkster.

Again, who knows if they are true, but I see a very vindictive ex-wife here.

They have two children to parent. That should be their focus, and not this nonsense.

But I can tell you, again from personal experience, that the nonsense seems to always creep into whatever happens in the family that is rocked by divorce.

And what of Brutus Beefcake? What does he have to say about this mess that he has been drawn into?

Nobody has heard from him at all at this point in time. Maybe the former "Barber" has taken the best tack in this whole thing.

Just don't say anything.

Rant #1,981: Endless Love With a Slow Hand But Stop Draggin' My Heart Around

This is Rant No, 1,981, just 19 away from the magic 2,000 mark.

Bully for me, and for this blog.

Anyway, since this is the 1,981st Rant, I figured I would look back at 1981, and what songs people were listening to on the radio and buying in their local record stores.

This was an important period in music, when MTV was first having an impact on what music we listened to (and viewed), and it was also right before vinyl records gave way to CDs, so I thought it might be fun to look back at what was popular during this transitional period in pop music, and pop culture.

For the week of September 12, 1981, 36 years ago, the No. 1 song on Billboard's Hot 100 was "Endless Love" by two musical superstars who first reached the charts as the lead singers of other acts, Diana Ross (Supremes) and Lionel Richie (Commodores). This was one of the biggest records of the 1980s, with nine weeks in the top spot. It was also the title theme of the movie starring Brooke Shields and Martin Hewitt.

A very visual act, the Pointer Sisters, had the No. 2 record in America during this period, with "Slow Hand."

At No. 3 was one of those popular duets between rock superstars that infiltrated the charts at this time. "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," by Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac) and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, was at the third spot this week.

One of the most popular acts of the period had the No. 4 record in the country, with Foreigner's "Urgent," featuring Jr. Walker on saxophone, residing at that spot.

Country was just starting to go mainstream in the early 1980s, and Ronnie Milsap's "(There's) No Gettin' Over Me" at No. 5, rounded out the top five singles in the country.

Looking at the next five of the top songs in America, Juice Newton has the No. 6 song on the Hot 100 this week with "Queen of Hearts."

Journey had one of its most endearing hit singles this week, with "Who's Crying Now" at the No. 7 spot.

Lionel Richie was hot as a pistol during this period, and he scored another hit as part of the Commodores with "Lady (You Bring Me Up)," which was the No. 8 song on the chart.

A future No. 1 tune, Christopher Cross' "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)," rushed up the chart to the No. 9 spot. The song--the title theme of the movie "Arthur" starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli--would overtake the endless run of "Endless Love" for the week of Oct. 17.

Rounding out the top 10 songs of that week was another country tune, "Step By Step," by Eddie Rabbit, which inched up to No. 10 this week.

The highest debuting record on the chart for the week was Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band's "Tryin' To Live My Life Without You," which came into the Hot 100 at No. 61. It reached as high as No. 5 a few weeks later.

The "Biggest Mover" on the Hot 100 for that week was "Private Eyes" by Daryl Hall and John Oates, which jumped from No. 54 the previous week to No. 34 this week. This single would eventually hit the No. 1 spot in early November.

So there you have it. These were the 10 most popular songs in the country at the time, and while none of them--save "Urgent" and the last song I talked about, "Private Eyes"--were on my personal "must listen to" list, you cannot knock how popular these songs were during this period.

Speak to you again tomorrow.

Classic Rant #635 (December 12, 2011): Holiday Flops

I am sure that you heard that this past weekend was the worst in the past three years for the movie industry.

In fact, even fewer people went to the movies this past weekend then went to theaters right after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"Only" $77 million was made this weekend. The top film was the flop "New Year's Eve," a film that will probably wind up on most "worst" lists for 2011. It recorded a "paltry" $13.7 million in ticket sales. It was followed by another new movie, the dreadfully reviewed "The Sitter," and the other top movies included "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 1," "The Muppets," "Arthur Christmas," "Hugo," "The Descendants," "Happy Feet Two," "Jack and Jill," and "Immortals."

Each and every one of these films received poor to horrible reviews when they came out--including "The Descendants," sorry George Clooney fans--and heck, with this slate of films, why would anyone want to go to the movies today?

My wife and I have been talking about this recent slate of holiday movies, and I cannot ever remember a worse lineup of movies during holiday-time ever.

And I mean ever.

The next "blockbuster" that is supposed to thrill us is the "Sherlock Holmes" sequel. You know, the sequel where Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal as a lazy slob superhero--Arthur Conan Doyle is probably turning in his grave--will continue. My family saw the first one, and even though my wife just loves Downey, she even said that it was one of the worst movies she ever saw.

So we won't be going to the movies for a long, long time.

I don't know where Hollywood's head is. The either remake movies or retread old ideas, and let me tell you, it generally does not work.

My parents were the type of people who used to go to the movies every week. And they continued going every week--they are now both 80 years old--until the past few months. They just can't justify spending $9 or more on the slate of films that Hollywood is releasing nowadays.

And don't be fooled by the dollar figures. Remember, movies cost about $9 a ticket now, and a couple of dollars higher for 3D fare. So while revenues have probably increased, the number of tickets sold has actually decreased.

And also, let's not forget that if you want to eat anything at the movie theater, you are going to have to pay for it, and pay for it with a lot of money.

So for a family of four, a movie day can cost over $50.

Why go to the movies? You can see the same trash, and save money, at home.

We did just that. My wife and I rented--and I really mean we rented because there was nothing else out there--a movie called "Bad Teacher," a film which certainly spells the end of Cameron Diaz's movie career.

She plays a teacher who is only in it for the money for a future boob job.

Yes, you read that right.

Diaz--who was never my cup of tea anyway--is horrific in this movie, as is her former real life boyfriend, Justin Timberlake.

The movie is embarrassing.

But we paid just $1.30 to see it through the local Redbox machine.

What trash.

And I know the other day I said that the "Three Stooges" movie looks interesting.

It does--but I pretty much expect that to be trash too.

But yes, I will probably fork over my money to see this trash.

Movies are a habit, and even though my family and I don't go regularly anymore, I wouldn't say the recent garbage put out by Hollywood is its death knell.

Dopes like me will always go to the movies, even if it isn't a weekly occurrence anymore.

But please, Hollywood, please put out something that is worth seeing.

Please!