Rant #2,251: Never Forget

Yes, I really did oversleep really badly this morning.

I am tired, but I didn't realize that I was this tired!

The spooks on Halloween must have gotten me!

Anyway ...

More from me about the synagogue massacre ...

This horrendous event hit me over the head when I first heard about it, and now that it has been a couple of days separated from that terrible situation, I am still reeling from it.

I have not been a member of a synagogue for the past nine years. I have not set foot in a synagogue during that period, too.

That simply means that I have not gone to a shul, a place where Jews can pray in peace. It doesn't mean that I have given up my Judaism.

There are several reasons why my family did not rejoin our shul, one of which is that it merged with another somewhat nearby synagogue, and the new synagogue was extremely nasty to my family when my son was ready to be bar mitzvahed. I know that I have discussed this in past Rants, so I won't go into it here, but it left a stain on me that I cannot remove so quickly.

But my Judaism has never left me, nor will it ever leave me. It is not only part of who I am, it IS who I am.

And that is why this horrific incident hit me to the core.

Churches and synagogues are places of worship, refuges from our homes and workplaces and places that we can pray to our chosen religion and feel safe doing it.

With this terrible event, coupled with the equally terrible event of a few years ago in a southern church, places of worship simply cannot leave their doors unattended and open anymore to welcome in whoever might want to pray and worship like they would like to do.

People with severe mental problems, and ready access to guns, have closed the openness we once felt in the solitude of our chosen religious place of worship.

Unfortunately, these houses of worship must be treated like we are now handling schools, and places where large groups of people can congregate, like stadiums and arenas and some move theaters.

Those places have metal detectors, armed guards at the doors, and people are scrutinized up and down when they arrive at these places to enjoy themselves.

It has become a way of life, and few complain.

I am not debating whether armed guards at synagogue doors would have prevented the latest tragedy, but it appears that that is the direction we might be going in, and houses of worship certainly have to investigate this type of protection after this latest tragedy.

Just this past Sunday, when my son and I attended that WWE event that I told you about yesterday, we had to empty our pockets and pass through a metal detector to get in. Sure, it is a pain in the butt doing this, but I don't hear anyone complaining anymore about doing it.

I am not comparing a WWE event to attending a religious service, but it is coming to the point where the scrutiny at the door is probably going to one day be the same, or very similar, whether entering an arena or a church or a synagogue.

And you know what? That is a shame, a crime in itself.

Classic Rant #901 (January 8, 2013): "Don't Do It"--Well, He Did

Looking outside now, it must be the calm before the storm, because it seems to be pretty still out.

As you probably know, the Northeast is supposed to get a major snowstorm later today.

Everybody seemed to be out and about yesterday evening as I was coming home from work, and the gas stations looked like they did post-Hurricane Sandy: lines, lots of honking cars, and everybody in a rush to fill up, as if the apocalypse was coming, not simply a snowstorm.

So how do I put everything in perspective while others are going out of their minds?

I listen to music from my music collection, and I have a good one to talk about today.

In the late 1950s, there was a kids' show on television, "Circus Boy," that was very popular.

It involved a little puff of a kid named Corky who was an orphan and trailed around with the circus, and all the adventures he had while doing that.

No, none of the adventures involved picking up after elephants, but the show made its star, Micky Braddock, a big kid star for a year or two.

When the show went off the air, that was that for this kid. He worked here and there, but he basically went back to being a real kid while his parents worked.

Of course, he couldn't be a real kid, because he lived in Beverly Hills and his dad was a well-known character actor by the name of George Dolenz.

Micky was never that far from show business because of this connection, but he gravitated toward music rather than acting per se.

He was in several garage bands in the mid-1960s, including a band by the name of the Missing Links, and he recorded a couple of single sides that went nowhere but into a vault somewhere.

Of course, this band name foreshadowed something major that happened to him in 1965. He went on an audition for a network TV show and got the part, and the rest is history.

Micky Braddock took his real last name, Dolenz, and so began his Monkees career.

But what happened to those sides he recorded when he was a virtual nobody?

Challenge Records got a hold of them, and released them as Micky Dolenz singles during the height of Monkeemania.

Two sides were released--"Don't Do It" and "Huff Puff"--and the former actually charted, reaching No. 75 on the charts in March 1967.

This often happens to singers who seemingly come out of nowhere and become big starts overnight. They all have recorded before, and some enterprising record company gets the masters and releases the music at the height of the performer's popularity.

It even happened with the Beatles and the music of theirs that was released on Vee-Jay Records after they became huge over here with their music on Capitol Records.

Anyway, "Don't Do It" really isn't that bad a song. It is sort of a slightly manipulated "Louie, Louie" clone, with Micky doing his best with lyrics like, "Don't do it, why don't you do it, don't do it, why don't you do it, don't do it, why don't you do it to me" or something like that if I recall them correctly.

His vocals aren't as smooth as they became during his time with the Monkees, but he gives it a real good try. And as I said, the song really isn't that terrible, so he gets an A for effort on a song that really is nothing more than a C+ at best.

Whatever the case, the release, and the other one that didn't chart (which I also have in my collection) show a future star doing the best with what he was given to do.

After the Monkees, Dolenz recorded numerous singles, none with any success, and he records to this day, recently releasing an album called "Remember," where he covers numerous tunes, including reworking some Monkees material.

But "Don't Do It" was what it was, a lame attempt by a record company to cash in on a perfomer's newly found fame. It is an el cheapo product all the way, from the cheesy picture sleeve to the B side, which was an instrumental and had nothing to do with Dolenz.

Funny thing is that this song refuses to go away. Several years ago, the song was actually re-released in a "disco-type" version.

But listen to it as it was released, and I think you will agree with me that while it doesn't show Micky at his best, he has done much, much worse than this record in his nearly 50-year recording career.

Speak to you on Monday. Here comes the storm!

Rant 2,250: We Gotta All Get Together

Hello. I am back!

I simply slept late(r) yesterday, because my son and I went to the WWE Evolution pay-per-view event at Nassau Coliseum on Sunday night.

The show was a good one, but the purpose was overstated.

The show was hyped as the first pay-per-view event entirely devoted to women wrestlers, but it was actually the first WWE pay-per-view devoted to the female side of the sport. Impact Wrestling and other wrestling groups have been doing these shows for years, but I guess if WWE does it, it is newsworthy.

The show featured some good matches, some lame matches, pretty much what you would suspect from a typical WWE show, but let's be honest about it, this had absolutely nothing to do with the empowerment of women as WWE would want you to believe. It had to do with marketing--yes, the women were still in pretty slinky costumes and they still were overly made up with false eyelashes too, so how could it be anything but--and I think it served its purpose.

Although the show ended around 10:30 p.m., and we were home before 11 p.m., I simply wanted to sleep after a rough week and busy weekend, so for the first time since I have been doing this column, I slept a little longer that night--rather than get up at 3:30 a.m. like I normally do, I got up at about 4:45 a.m.

So I didn't really sleep that late, but it was late for me.

Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox for winning the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Yes, I kind of sat out this one, because I cannot root for either team, but let's be honest about it, the Red Sox were the best team during the 2018 season, they beat two 100-win teams to get to championship series--the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros, last year's champs--and then they took apart the Dodgers, a team that was probably the sixth or seventh best team in baseball, but the National League representative nonetheless.

And then there are the two stories I am trying to avoid, but not doing a very good job at doing, the letter bomb case and the synagogue massacre.

Let's talk about the former first.

Another deranged individual feels that he must target innocent people because of their political beliefs, and he sent chills up this country's spines for about 10 days--and the packages are still in circulation even though he was caught.

Look, I don't agree with the politics spewed forth by his targets, but they do not deserve to be bombed because they believe what they believe.

Let's hope that if this individual is convicted of his crimes, he will be put away for the rest of his life.

And then we have the shooter in the synagogue massacre, another depraved individual who took it upon himself to rid the world of Jews, who he felt were pariahs and for whatever reason, were the group that was ruining not only his life, but our country, too.

So like the sick depravity shown by the church shooter just a few years back, the latest coward goes to a house of worship and decides that he will be the one to remove people from the face of the earth, simply because of how they worship.

He did what he did, but he was captured too, which might be the only good thing to come out of this whole heinous episode.

Perhaps they can pick his brain and find out what set him off, and perhaps that can be valuable information to prevent the next coward from doing such an act anywhere else, whether church, synagogue or anywhere.

If convicted, the death penalty awaits, and actually, that is too good for this sorry excuse for a human being.

There really isn't much more to say about these two pieces of human excrement, but life must go on, and it has and will.

And then again, I read now that there was another school shooting revolving around bullying, and this type of senseless violence appears to have no end.

We celebrate things like the World Series and Evolution while we shake out heads about these letter bombs and the synagogue massacre and the latest school shooting.

Nobody ever said that life was easy, but nobody ever had to experience such extremes as we have had to do as a civilization in recent times.

I think the time has come to get together, celebrate who we are, and stop the rhetoric from all sides, which is becoming oh so boring.

Let's stop blaming people who are not to blame, but let's put a clamp on those who just don't know when to stop.

As the old song said, "We Gotta All Get Together," and it starts NOW.

Classic Rant #900 (February 7, 2013): A Milestone

Welcome once again to the Ranting and Raving Blog.

Yes, less than four years ago I welcomed everyone to this blog, and some of you came, others didn't.

That was fine with me. I didn't start this blog up to change the world.

And now, we have reached the 900th rant, and I think that is something of an accomplishment.

In this society, where things come and go so quickly, having something up since 2009 is something of an accomplishment.

Here's my story.

I am a writer, have pretty much been a writer for several decades.

My regular job is writing about military stores: commissaries, which are supermarkets, and exchanges, which are department stores.

It is a pretty decent beat. One day I can be writing about legislation in Washington, and the next day I can be writing about underwear. It is that varied.

But it also can put you in a box.

I am basically reporting on these things, not giving my opinion, as if there would be an opinion about underwear.

And as a writer, that kind of writing stifles your creative thought.

Again, I am not knocking it. Doing it helps pay the bills and helps to put food on the table each week.

But it stifles your creative thought.

So, back in 2009, I had this crazy idea that in order to ignite my creative thought again, I would go the blog route, start up a blog where I could write about anything I wanted, and express any views I wanted.

And that is exactly what I did.

Sure, I can bet that you haven't agreed with me on everything that I have said here, but that, to me, is part of the fun of it.

A free exchange of ideas is really what this country was built on, and that is the rule at this blog.

If you agree or disagree, that is fine. If you feel the need to express an opinion, that is fine too.

As long as it is done civilly, that is how we do things here.

I have slightly promoted this blog, in particular on Facebook.

I have found that Facebook is a funny place.

On certain sites you can express your ideas, while on other sites, the administrator stifles what you have to say.

That is their right, but I also field opinions on Facebook when I put up a link to this blog there. I often get more opinion on Facebook, because it is easier to post there than here, I have learned.

And I have learned that on Facebook, for some reason, people can get electronically violent if they disagree with you.

Yes, they don't understand what a discussion is.

And that is why I like the blog format. I can put up what I want, and you can comment if you like.

I don't have to agree with you, and you don't have to agree with me, and that is A-OK with me.

Anyway, getting back to the topic at hand, 900 is a nice number, but this blog will be in the same place for as long as I want to do it, which seems to be forever.

It takes me away from my regular writing, and whether I am talking about vulgar TV shows or my family, you get what you get here, and I am not going to change that format.

If my posts have tweaked you, have moved you, have allowed you to look forward or back, or have sparked you, that is great.

And thanks to my regular fans, because you have helped to make this thing work beyond my wildest imagination. Although somewhat small in number, you keep me going.

And for those who visit here on a less regular basis, or come here via my Facebook link, thanks to you too. Thanks for thinking enough about what I have to say to visit here every once in a while.

(And yes, that photo is of me, from about 1971 or so. I have lost all that hair and put on a few pounds, but I really haven't changed that much since then.)

So, onward and upward. The 1,000th entry is within reach. If we keep going like we are, we should reach that milestone sometime in the summer, in July or so, when the weather is warmer in my neck of the woods and the thought of snow is just about nil.

As it is, we are supposed to get a big snowstorm this weekend, which, as you can imagine, I am not looking forward to by any stretch of the imagination.

But anyway, thanks for supporting the Ranting and Raving Blog since 2009, and I will speak to you again tomorrow.

Thanks again.

Rant #2,249: A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You

Looking down the list of stories that Yahoo wants you to read on its home page today, I really wasn't taken with any of them.

The Megyn Kelly debacle continues. She said on her show the other day that it was OK for people in costume to paint their faces, and that includes people in blackface and people in whiteface.

Of course, the OK she gave to black face stirred up the PC crowd, who related blackface to the Jim Crow days and the discrimination against blacks. They aren't wrong this time around, but taken within the context of whiteface, blueface, greeenface and whatever face you decide to paint yourself, it appears that the quote was a bit taken out of context, but even after an apology, she was canned, and is now suing NBC.

I also saw that singer/forever troubled soul Sinead O'Connor has converted to Islam. This woman was at the height of her game nearly 30 years ago with her hit Prince cover "Nothing Compares 2 U," but since that time, has suffered from severe mental illness issues, has seen her career crash to the ground, and I dare say that her latest move might just sink her further into the abyss.

And as far as those bombs I talked about yesterday, there is some thought that they are actually being sent by a Democratic supporter to breed sympathy for the party, and thus, votes in the upcoming elections. There is too much scalawag to totally dismiss this notion, but if it turns out to be true, well, who knows? Just stop it, already.

So what am I going to talk about on the last day of the week? I am going to go after something out of left field, something you might know about, something you might not know about, and its importance in the history of rock and roll is left up to you.

In early 1967, there was no hotter pop/rock act on the planet than the Monkees. Say what you want to about them, but not only were they having hit records all over the place during this period, but they had a weekly, NBC network show to sell their songs. Heck, even the Beatles didn't have that.

Their music supervisor was Don Kirshner, who basically chose the music, chose the musicians he wanted to play on the music--usually not the Monkees themselves, and more about that later--and really ruled over the put-together act as a true svengali.

Well, the long and short of it was that the Monkees were so popular that they outgrew their creator, and at this point in time, decided in a classic fit of biting the hand that feeds you that they wanted to call all the musical shots. They wanted to choose the music, choose the musicians playing on these songs--them, and whoever else they wanted--and basically, wanted to rule their own destinies.

Kirshner wouldn't hear of it, and in March 1967, with a full revolt in order--during a legendary argument between Michael Nesmith and Kirshner, Nesmith put his fist through a wall and said, "This could have been your head!"--he tried to rush release a single in America, with "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" on the A side and "She Hangs Out" on the B side.

The release was immediately pulled in the U.S., but in other places, and in this case, Canada, this single did come out.

Kirshner also put out the LP "More of the Monkees" without the knowledge of the act, pouring gas on an already raging fire.

Kirshner was fired, the Monkees went on to rule their own musical destinies from hereon in, and were somewhat successful in doing so.

Kirshner went on to create the Archies, where he didn't have to endure such backtalk and sass, and well, the rest is history.

The "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" single did come out in the U.S., but with the Monkees' own turn as a full band on the B side in Nesmith's "The Girl I Knew Somewhere," and it hit No. 3 on the American chart. It holds some special significance for me, personally, because it is the first record I ever bought with my own money, and yes, not only is the image above that very singe, it still plays quite well more than 50 years later.

But that Canadian single of Kirshner's did get through, and it reached No. 1 on that country's singles chart.

The only reason that I even mention this is that at long last, I finally have the Canadian single as part of my own collection.

Yes, I caved into eBay to get it, but get it I did, at a pretty good price, too, one that didn't set my bank accounts ablaze.

Every time I had seen the single offered--which wasn't too often--it was priced at a ridiculous rate, and there was no way that I was going to buy it.

But I finally found it priced reasonably, and it is now firmly in my collection.

I know that this is not an earth shattering event for anyone but me, but it is just another piece of my Monkees bucket list that I have checked off.

I still need an original, 1968 copy of "The Birds, the Bees and the Monkees" in mono, probably their rarest American recording, but I know that someday I will find it, whether sooner or later.

But at least I now have this recording in my collection, so onward and upward!

Now, isn't that more interesting than talking about bombs and Megyn Kelly and Sinead O'Connor?

Well, no, you don't have to answer that.

I will be busy on Monday, so I will see you again on Tuesday. Have a good weekend, and hold down the fort for me while I take Monday off from this column.

Speak to you again then.

Classic Rant #899 (February 6, 2013): My Grandparents

Today, February 6, is the 38th anniversary of my grandfather's passing.

I think today was the date, although I am not sure. It could have been yesterday, or even tomorrow, but I know that it was sometime in this span of time in 1974 that he left us.

I am a very, very lucky guy. I grew up with my grandparents.

I had four grandparents alive during my childhood years, and beyond.

But my Grandpa Morris was the first one to go, well before the other ones left this earth.

I remember my grandfather to this day as a very, very good man.

He was actually born in England, on a boat that came from Russia, I believe, on passage to the U.S. My great grandmother couldn't hold out, and she gave birth to him there.

Anyway, I don't know the whole story, but he met my grandmother, and they married in the 1920s sometime, I don't know the year.

And in 1931, my mother was born, and some time later, my uncle was born.

Anyway, my grandfather was an extremely intelligent person. He seemed to be very good in things like mathematics, and in another lifetime, he probably would have been one of our leading architects, engineers (what my uncle became), or mathematicians.

But back then, during the Roaring 20s and later the Depression, he took what he could get, and he worked for the Post Office for many years.

I believe he was a postal inspector during Prohibition, looking for bootleg liquor.

He carried a gun, and he knew how to use it. My mother told me that he was so embarrassed to carry a pistol that he never, ever showed the gun to my mother as she was growing up.

This type of work was beneath him, but he had a family, they had to eat, and he did what he had to do.

He was too young to serve in World War I, and too old to serve in World War II, so during the Second World War, he served as an Air Raid Warden.

My birth in 1957 made him a grandfather for the first time, followed by the birth of my sister in 1959. He actually has another grandchild, a girl, who is my uncle's child. She came many, many years later, way after he had passed.

Anyway, by the time I was up and about, my grandfather had retired from the Post Office. I believe he worked in an Army Navy store. He got me my first baseball uniform and my first cleats.

Growing up was great. I had all four grandparents, and they were all around seemingly all the time. We would visit them lots of weekends, and I really enjoyed being with all of them.

But what a contrast my sister and I had. My mother's parents--Grandpa Morris and Grandma Betty--were New World to the hilt. They were the youngest grandparents a kid could have. They knew everything new, and I remember doing the Twist with my grandmother. She loved to dance.

My father's parents--Grandpa Jack and Grandma Harriet--were as Old World as it came. They were Orthodox Jews, were active in the synagogue, but were more strident in their practices. Even though they raised four highly successful children, I doubt they knew what the Twist was. But Grandma Harriet's smile could light up a room, it really could. Grandpa Jack had a wicked sense of humor that was formed by having a pretty hard life.

Anyway, my Grandpa Morris could help me with my homework, he could watch TV with me, and he could be stern if he had to. I still remember the stare he gave me when I got greedy and poured 7Up into a glass and it got all over the table.

My Grandpa Morris was human. He had his faults. But one fault overran the rest.

He was a smoker, and not just a smoker, but a heavy smoker. He smoked pipes, cigars and cigarettes, usually in one fell swoop. He always had a tobacco product in his mouth. He never stopped.

I think it was a nervous habit, as he would smoke when he was tense. It was also the times. Seemingly every man smoked. Even my father smoked at one time.

When I was little, I would ask him to stop. He simply could not stop.

Then if I remember correctly, one day in the early 1970s, he was coming home from work, and used the train (he never drove). The doors to the train were closing, and a woman was rushing to the door.

Being the gentleman that he was, he tried to keep the door open, and it crushed into him.

He was never the same after that.

He was a relatively healthy man, but that incident allowed a weakness to find an opening.

He had cancer, and by the time he realized that the cancer was eating away at him, it was really too late.

Yes, he did quit smoking, but the cancer was too advanced for anything to be done to help him.

I remember his funeral. He was in an open casket, and I peered over to look, and it didn't look like my Grandpa Morris. I moved away from that casket pretty quickly.

I said something at his funeral. I don't remember exactly what it was, but I know he probably would have liked what I said.

He was really a great man, the type of guy you will never read about in the newspapers or hear about on TV, but he--and all of my grandparents, for that matter--were my heroes. They battled things that my sister and I never had to even think about to try to make our lives better than theirs.

And that goes for our parents, too. Real battlers, real heroes, and real people.

Anyway, my other grandparents all lived to ripe old ages, and they all passed in the mid to late 1990s. They lived to see their grandchildren become adults, and they lived to see my sister and I get married and have children of our own.

I often think about my grandparents, and my Grandpa Morris. I think he would be happy about how my sister and I turned out, and I think he would be happy that he had great grandchildren who are turning out fine too.

Lots of bumps in the road, but I think right now, we are all on pretty solid footing.

I will never forget my grandparents, and I know that my sister and I have spread the wisdom we have learned from them to our own kids. I know that my kids know quite a bit about Grandpas Morris and Jack and Grandmas Betty and Harriet.

They made us who we are today, as have our parents. All good people in a world that is constantly changing, but the one thing that holds steady is that grandparents are very, very important to your upbringing.

I am so happy that I got to know my grandparents very, very well, and that my children and my sister's kids have gotten to know their grandparents pretty well, too.

Maybe one day my sister and I will become a grandparents ourselves, and I just hope that we can live up to the standards set by our grandparents and our parents.

It will be difficult, but I think we can do it.

Rant #2,246: Too Much Talk

I am sure you heard about the explosive devices that are being sent to stern critics of the Trump Administration, including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Maxine Waters, CNN and the latest, supposedly to Joe Biden.

These are the work of an extremely sick mind, and hopefully, the perpetrator will be found quickly and this nonsense will stop.

The bombs are crudely made, but they are made to not only explode, but to maul those handling them, as they reportedly have pieces of glass inside of them, shrapnel on top of a potential explosive to harm and maim.

How anybody could think that such mailings are the result of a noble act is appalling.

Yes, we still have Freedom of Speech in this country, but this certainly doesn't come under that umbrella; Freedom of Speech has nothing to do with potentially quelling the speech of anyone, even those who might not fall into line with your political line.

President Trump has come out and said this, and said that such endeavors do more to divide the country than unite it. He said he wants us to all get along, and he also said that his job as President is to protect all the people in the country, those that like him and those who are his opponents.

There is no place in our country for imbeciles to be sending around bombs in the mail.

But, of course, the rhetoric continues, as critics are stating that it is Trump himself who is to blame for this, because his attacks on his opponents has literally given ammunition to some deranged individuals to take it upon themselves to make everything "right" in their own eyes.

You just knew that was going to happen. Heck, when it rains, it is because of Trump; when there is a natural disaster, it is because of Trump; heck, when a loved one passes, it is because of Trump.

That is kind of simplifying things a bit, but the constant attacks on the President from the get go by his opponents is unprecedented in modern history, and the utter lack of respect by some people to the President and the job that he has is appalling, at best.

Sure, I have never liked the President's tweets, which I think brings him down to his opponents' level, but he makes them, and he acts as most human beings act when they are attacked, he replies to his attackers.

Perhaps he should just let those constant attacks just slide off of him, but you know what? He is perhaps the most human of our recent Presidents. He acts like most of us would when attacked like this, when criticized like this, when taken over the coals as he is on a daily basis.

He says what he feels he needs to say, and honestly, how many of us would also reply to these incessant attacks and not let them go unanswered?

The President has a tremendous amount of support by what I think you can call the current "silent majority," those who speak at the ballot box rather than with their mouths.

Remember what you were told as a kid: "Always watch the quiet ones," and that maxim continues to hold true today.

The ones that make the biggest splashes aren't the ones who have the majority opinion, they are just the loudest.

Whoever is making these bombs already has some type of abhorrent behavior in his or her veins, and he or she firmly believes that they are answering to those who are screaming the loudest.

This person should stop doing what they are doing. It is counterproductive, and is not helping anyone in any way, shape or form, including the President, who is taking a needless hit from this by people who say that his "behavior" has created its own petri dish for such behavior to grow.

You know, I really think that both sides of the coin should stop and think for a moment.

We are all Americans. We should cool down the rhetoric, period.

Enough is enough already.

Just shut up and revel in the fact that we live in the greatest country in the world.

Sure, it sounds almost polyannaish to say something like this, but it is true,

We all need to chill out a bit, take a couple of breaths of fresh air, and go about our own business.

Let's all get along. It is the only way to move ahead as a society.

Let's all get along.

What a concept!

Classic Rant #898 (February 5, 2013): Sounds Fishy To Me

Eating fish is supposedly better for your health and your metabolism than eating red meat is.

I like some fish, but I also like red meat. And I hate chicken.

But what do you feed to your kids--fish or red meat? Or chicken?

McDonald's is stepping into the fray, and for a limited time, customers have a choice between Chicken McNuggets and a new Happy Meal introduced by the fast food giant, their first new one in a decade.

Now on the menu is Fish McBites, which are basically small, very small, pieces of fish with a fried coating.

A Happy Meal for the kids, or 10, 15 or 30 little fish balls come in a pack, depending on the size pack you order, and based on reports that I have read, kids might think these things are pieces of popcorn rather than fish balls, because the coating outshines the fish inside.

Go out and get them now, because this is being run as a test, and they will only be available until the end of March, which is also the end of Lent.

I have also read that Pizza Hut has released a smaller version of its pizzas. You can get three to an order, and the idea is that everyone in the family can get their own personal pizza, with the toppings that they want.

So, all of a sudden, size counts again, but now, small is better.

These types or restaurants seem to be starting to run out of viable ideas for their menus. They've gone up, down and seemingly all around with what they offer.

Heck, McDonald's makes the biggest deal every year when they release their McRib sandwich, but does anybody know, or care, that you can get the same type of offering in TV dinners that cost a buck? Check out the el cheapo Banquet TV dinners for proof, and others also make the same thing.

But I know, it isn't McDonald's.

I eat fast food maybe once a week at the most. I like the convenience, and the food really isn't that terrible, as long as you eat it in moderation ... which we know a lot of people don't do.

Fast food restaurants have been blamed for our obesity epidemic, which is wrong, wrong, wrong. Nobody forces anyone to go into these places, and if you are watching your weight, you don't get stuff from these restaurants.

You can't expect McDonald's to help you watch your weight. Do it yourself.

Anyway, back to the main topic ...

I don't know if I will ever try McDonald's new offering, or for that matter, Pizza Hut's new offering.

I haven't had fish at McDonald's in years; if I want fish as a fast food, I would much rather go out of my way to Long John Silver's, which isn't near where I live but is reachable by car.

And as for Pizza Hut, I haven't been in one in years. My wife used to work for them, by the way.

But I guess for a lot of people, these new offerings give them another choice, and I guess the creation of these new menu items is all about that, isn't it?

And the chains know that too. More choice, more footsteps, more customers, more money.

So eat your Fish McBites and mini-pizzas now, because they are sure to disappear--

Well before the bulge in your waistline does.

Rant #2,245: Ups and Downs

The world of professional wrestling, dominated by WWE, is an enigma that cannot be categorized or pegged like other athletic or entertainment endeavors.

It truly exists in its own world, one which it created itself, and rarely does the wrestling world and the real world mesh into one.

However, the other night on Raw, the WWE's flagship show, the two worlds came together, collided head on, and the real world won out.

And in this case, it was an unfortunate victor.

In a story that made national and international headlines, Roman Reigns, one of the top wrestlers in the WWE, announced to the world that he was taking a leave of absence from the organization to battle recurring leukemia.

My son and I were watching the show, as we always do on Monday nights, and I mentioned to my son that Reigns wasn't wearing his usual wrestling garb as he entered the ring to open the show.

He was wearing casual wear, his hair perfectly tied back rather than draped all over him, and he had a look on his face that was barren.

As he is both popular and hated--and you can be both in the world of the WWE--he was booed and cheered as he started to speak.

He went through some sentences and words, and then it basically came out in full force.

Paraphrasing what he said, it went something like this: "Look, I have been lying to you. I said I was a fighting champion ... my real name is Joe, and I have leukemia."

Yes, just as bluntly as that, and the crowd became still.

Joe Anoa'i, of American Samoan descent and another member of the famous family of Samoan wrestlers that counts Dwayne Johnson as a family member, had played football in college, but his hopes and dreams of continuing as a pro football player were dashed when he was diagnosed with leukemia 10 years earlier.

He was lucky then. Through treatment, this 22 year old beat cancer, and was in full remission.

Broke, married with children, and with nowhere to go, he went to the WWE to become a professional wrestler, and basically, the rest is history.

During the past 10 years, he became one of the most esteemed wrestlers in the business, with many titles under his name, including his current one, the Universal Title.

And with two other wrestlers, he was a member of The Shield faction, perhaps one of the most awesome three-man groups in the history of pro wrestling.

But he has been humbled. He has leukemia.

He announced that he is taking a leave of absence from the WWE to fight the disease, is giving up his current title, and he said it is not a retirement. He said, again paraphrased, "I am going to step in the box and take my best swing at this thing, and I promise I will be back."

And then he left the ring, to both cheering and stunned silence.

Many in the crowd sat stunned, others were crying, others were cheering, and others were doing a combination of all three things.

The three announcers on the show looked to have been crying as they tried to return the show to some normalcy.

Me, I was stupefied.

Rarely does the WWE world and the real world collide, but here it had, and not in a way that anybody could imagine.

Sure, pro wrestling is what it is. It is more entertainment than athletics, although the participants are athletes to the core.

It is a global phenomenon, a multi-billion-dollar enterprise that has made many people rich beyond their wildest dreams.

But no matter how rich or famous you are, cancer can hit anybody.

It hit one of its biggest stars, and now he has to take care of himself.

As one of my favorite wrestlers, and as a person, I wish him the best, a view certainly echoed by the entire WWE Universe, or what they call fans of the organization.

Go to it, Joe. You will pin this thing to the mat--

1-2-3.

Classic Rant #897 (February 4, 2013): Super Bowl Funeral

I don't know what is going to be bigger: the just finished Super Bowl or former New York City Mayor Ed Koch's funeral.

In the New York Metropolitan Area, I would say that it has to be Koch's funeral, hands down.

And even elsewhere around the country, Koch's funeral is going to resonate like no other city funeral, probably since Judy Garland's funeral in 1969.

There will be a lot of pomp and circumstance, and people from all walks of life at this funeral. Koch deserved the best, and he will go out strong.

If you didn't already know who Ed Koch was, he was New York City personified in one unique individual, who championed the city through some very dark days in the 1970s and 1980s, when New York City was on its own fiscal cliff.

Starting his time on the national state as a lawyer heavily involved in the civil rights movement, he gradually worked his way up to the top spot in New York City politics.

When you are mayor of New York City, you are really the mayor of the world. In the United States, some people say that the mayor of New York City is second only to the President of the United States in political importance, and Koch personified that to the hilt.

He could take it, and he could give it back too. He had an irascible sense of humor, but when put to the test, he could lay it on thick too.

I think he actually became more popular to the masses when he was finally voted out of office after a couple of terms as mayor.

He seemed to be New York City's own Jewish leprechaun, touting the city at every turn.

Although a life-long liberal Democrat, he supported whoever he wanted in various political races, no matter what their party affiliation.

He also appeared in a number of TV shows and movies, did movie reviews, and you might remember that he followed Judge Wapner as the presiding judge on "The People's Court."

He was really the typical New York everyman, and just about everyone liked him, even his opponents.

So, the day after the Super Bowl, we are really going to have the Super Bowl of funerals in New York City today. All the local stations will be covering this funeral as if a President has passed, and it should really be something to watch.

Politicians, celebrities, and just regular folk are going to be at this thing, and really, it will be less a funeral than a celebration of a man that gave his heart and soul to the city that he loved.

Goodbye Ed Koch. You used to ask, "How'm I doin;?" and the answer is a simple one:

"You done darn good, Mr. Mayor, darn good."

Rant #2,244: Bits and Pieces

Once again we visit the land of Bits and Pieces, where stories that need to be spoken about are, but in a shorter type of way.

So let's dive right into it, because that is the way it will be (that's a line in another Dave Clark Five song, but I won't go into that here).

Pizza Delivery Man Gets Caught: Well, I could have said "I told you so," but I won't get into that now ...

That pizza delivery man who made international headlines when he was detained by ICE at Fort Hamilton after delivering a pizza there, and became a cause celebre for many on the left who believe that we should open our borders to everyone, got himself in a real sauce over the weekend, and he was picked up and arrested on Friday for criminal mischief after a domestic altercation.

The man, Pablo Villavicencio, is here illegally, but that did not stop politicians, celebrities and common folk from coming to his aid in June when he was detained by ICE because of his status.

He was painted as a hard working man, who had solidified himself in the community by working, marrying and having children here. He was said to be someone who dearly loved this country, wanted to stay here even though his paperwork had elapsed a long time ago, and was not the type of person that should be deported.

Yup ... what are those same fools who backed this guy saying now?

The very person who came to his defense as a solid citizen, his wife, was evidently the vicim in the altercation with him. According to the Nassau County, Long Island, New York District Attorney's office, after an argument on Thursday between Villavicencio and his wife, Sandra Chica, related to her desire to divorce him, he pushed her against a wall "and slapped her body."

Evidently, he had demanded from her their kids' passports, and she refused to give them to him, and that is when the violence occurred. When she said she was going to call the police, he took her cellphone from the kitchen counter.

Incredibly, even though force was used against her, he is not charged with assaulting his wife, simply not allowing her to make an emergency call to police.

His lawyer has said that Villavicencio has been under massive pressure related to his June arrest and the pending divorce. It is also unclear how or whether this will impact his legal status.

Well, where is Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand now, where is Gov. Cuomo, where are all the bleeding hearts who fell for this person's--and his family's--half-baked story?

Deport this guy, and deport him as quickly as possible.

This is an upstanding a citizen? This is the guy his wife shed tears for, because she would be separated from her loving husband?

Boy, a sucker is really, truly born every minute, and we have plenty of them in New York State, in the country and around the world who want to believe that these shirkers are just the type of people we want in this country.

Sorry, Charlie, not this time, and with thousands of people trying to illegally get into our country every day without proper vetting, is it any wonder we are seriously thinking about closing our borders off to anyone trying to get here this way?

We are not a garbage barge here. Dispose of your garbage at home, please.

Who To Pick In the World Series?: The World Series begins tonight, with the Boston Red Sox, the champions of the American League, going against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the champions of the National League.

Who do you root for in the Series when you are in a situation like I, and probably millions of others, are in?

I am a New York Yankees fan. Yankees fans never root for the Red Sox to do anything. It isn't in our nature, it isn't in our blood. Yes, the Red Sox had to beat the Yankees on their ride to get to this point, but it doesn't mean that since they are the American League representative that we automatically back them in this contest.

And then we have the Dodgers ... how anybody from New York can root for the Dodgers, or for the San Francisco Giants for that matter, is beyond me. The two teams left New York 60 years ago, and have moved onto greener pastures in California, but the stink remains.

I, personally, am so burnt out from baseball this year that I think that I am going to sit this one out. There is no way I am backing either team, so may the best team win.

Mild Winter Predicted For Northeast: The weather has been a bit crazy this year, and the craziness will evidently continue into the winter, as local weather forecasters state that the winter of 2018-2019 might be quite warm.

Oh, we will have snow and lower temperatures, but not like we have had in recent years.

It is simply going to be warmer, more rain than snow, and not as cold as in the past.

Does this relate to global warming? Who knows, but I personally hate the winter, because I hate cleaning up Mother Nature's mess.

So while it won't be balmy this winter, if the forecasters are correct, then I will be very, very pleased.

My Employment Situation:

Well, that is it for now. Speak to you again tomorrow.

Classic Rant #896 (February 1, 2013): The Charts

I was just looking at the Billboard Hot 100 music chart from this week 46 years ago, and I was amazed at the quality of recordings that made up the most popular songs of the week all those years ago.

Topping the chart for the week of January 28, 1967 was the Monkees' "I'm a Believer," followed by Aaron Neville's "Tell It Like It Is."

The rest of the top 10 went like this:

3) Royal Guardsmen - "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron"
4) Seekers - "Georgy Girl"
5) Mamas and the Papas - "Words of Love"
6) Four Tops - "Standing in the Shadows of Love"
7) Paul Revere and the Raiders - "Good Thing"
8) Lovin' Spoonful - "Nashville Cats"
9) Buckinghams - "Kind of a Drag"
10) Blues Magoos - "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet"

The highest debut single for the week was the Supremes' "Love is Here and Now You're Gone," which came in at No. 47 en route to an eventual No. 1 placement, and the biggest mover--the song that moved up the chart the greatest number of placements--was the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday," which jumped from No. 78 to No. 43 in one week, and eventually it, too, would hit No. 1.

A very interesting chart, wouldn't you agree?

I am not going to knock current music here, although I can't see anything today even comparing with what was hot 46 years ago.

But 46 years ago, I was 10 years old, and this was MY music.

There wasn't a song on here that I didn't like way back when, and all these years later, I still love 'em all.

Each one has become a staple of the oldies circuit on the radio, and many of the performers have had long-lasting careers, at least on the concert stage.

Some even continue releasing records today.

The Monkees' Micky Dolenz, fresh off a tour with the surviving Monkees, has a new album out, and the others often record, although not with the same lineups as they had way back when.

It's amazing how this music still pulsates all these years later, and even our kids know many of these songs through their use in commercials, and on TV shows and films.

No, I am not going to say anything bad here about current music. We won't know its real impact, and whether it will still resonate 46 years from today.

Will people know the songs? Will the music be looked at as oldies, and be heard on what will go for oldies stations in the year 2059?

Who knows.

All I know is that the music of my youth still packs a punch, and that makes me very, very happy.

Rant #2,243: Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)

I hope you had a good weekend.

My weekend was the usual mix of busy-ness, never sitting down, running around until my knees hurt, and well, it all started on Friday night.

On that night, my son and I went to see the Brooklyn Nets' first home game of the year, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

I was born in Brooklyn more than 60 years ago, and while I am as separated from that borough as one could be at that point, at least part of my roots are still in Kings County, and my son and I enjoy going to basketball games at that arena.

It just so happened that this game was against the New York Knicks, to make the event even more special for us and the fans that were there--a packed house, more than 17,000 people.

It was a great game, with the Nets somehow eking out a 105-103 win.

We made all of our train connections coming and going, so we were home before 11:30 p.m. that night.

Then we had the normal Saturday for us, which included a lot of running around, so much so that I am seemingly still out of breath from it.

Then came Sunday ... and I could finally relax, to a certain extent.

It was not a relaxing day for my wife or son, as they had to work, but that situation--I hate when my wife works on the weekend--allowed me to "chill out" yesterday.

I did pretty much absolutely nothing--I did do the laundry, made a few lunches, picked up my son at work, that sort of thing--but otherwise, I didn't do too much of anything.

What I did do is watch a few movies to kill some time, one of which was absolutely dreadful, the other one which I have seen countless times before and it remains one of the funniest, best movies ever made.

Let me get to the former first, so I can get it out of the way.

"Moonshine Love" is probably one of the worst films ever made. This 1970 film (which is in beguiling black and white and looks like it was actually made at least five years earlier), defies description but is probably in the very short-lived "Hixploitation" genre (I didn't even know that there was such a genre until I looked it up), and is best forgotten quickly,

The long and short of it is that it takes place in the boondocks somewhere, involves hillbillies that make the Clampetts on "The Beverly Hillbillies" into second cousins of Albert Einstein, and makes little sense at all.

Some crook commits a robbery, runs off with the money, and then is involved in a car wreck, where he completely loses his memory.

He is nursed back to health by a hillbilly clan that I cannot quite figure out; there is a male there who I believe is the father of a tall blonde and is married to a dark haired woman with a European accent.

Anyway, the crook ends up being the lover of the blond woman, the dark-haired woman romps around too with various paramours, and later, the robber's accomplices come to get their money, but the robber is fully engaged with the hillbilly family, and still doesn't have his memory, so he has no idea where the money is.

There is a climax, which I won't go into, but this film involves lots of nudity and sex scenes (one with a carrot that has to be seen to be believed), and, well, yes, it does fill up a little more than an hour of your time with some mindless "entertainment," I guess.

The other movie I watched is so much better than this trash that to list it in the same Rant actually is very unfair, because here we are talking about a real movie, something that was created for the mass audience, and hits it mark whether you are watching it for the first time or the 1,000th time.

One of the funniest movies ever made, "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" came out of a move of pure genius: combine the comedy of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello with a gaggle of "monsters"--not just the Frankenstein monster, but also Dracula and the Wolfman--into a single movie.

And this 1948 film never fails to deliver laughter and thrills, sometimes at the same time.

The boys play inept shipping clerks who get mixed up with the elements of a spook house, including newly purchased attractions--the Frankenstein monster (Glenn Strange) and the corpse of Dracula (Bela Lugosi)--that have been purchased by the owner of the spook house.

Through one circumstance or another, these attractions spring to life, with the Wolf Man--Lon Chaney Jr.--doing his best to keep a straight face as he tells the boys of the impending havoc of these two creatures.

Everything comes out into the open at a Halloween costume party, where Dracula goes after Costello's brain and somehow, he and Abbott prove that the monsters did come back to haunt the world, but are able to thwart them at their evil turn.

And the ending of the film is one of the greatest finales in movie history, and if you haven't seen it, I won't spoil it for you, but I will say that decades later. Michael Jackson had the same intention as Bud and Lou did at including this actor in their respective works.

Anyway, this film was pure comic genius, and several years ago, it was ranked as one of the greatest comedy movies of all time--and with Halloween coming up next week, it is the perfect time of the year to watch this movie, and watch it again and again and again.

It is that good, and this movie certainly solidified Bud Abbott and Lou Costello as the greatest comedy team of all time, bar none.

So that was my weekend, certainly made up of scary monsters and super creeps!

And I am sure that next weekend should be an interesting one too, because I work for the weekend, so it has to be interesting.

Stay tuned.

Classic Rant #895 (January 31, 2013): Surprise, Surprise, Surprise (Not Really)

Shazam!

Actor/singer Jim Nabors, of "Gomer Pyle" fame and the guy with that funny look, funny voice, and deep, baritone voice, has come out of the closet.

He married his long-time male companion in Washington State the other day. He is a resident of Hawaii, but since same-sex marriages are legal in Washington, him and his beau decided to tie the knot there.

"When Sgt. Carter finds out, he gonna kill me, he gonna kill me, he gonna kill me dead."

That's the line from one of the most memorable, funny episodes of the "Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C." series, where Gomer is entrusted with Sgt. Carter's car, and it ends up not only getting lost and stolen, but getting smashed to bits, too.

Anyway, was this most recent action by Nabors any "surprise, surprise, surprise" to anyone? Will Sgt. Carter "kill him dead" when he finds out about it?

Probably not.

Nabors has never hid his sexuality, although he never paraded around his sexuality to the public like other stars who feel the need to do so have done in recent times.

He says that his co-workers and closest friends knew he was gay, but he never felt the need to let everybody in on his secret, one which really wasn't secret at all.

Now that Nabors has come out and married, will he change his approach to the whole thing?

No, he won't, which is very, very refreshing.

Unlike some Hollywood personalities who hit you over the head with their sexuality (both ways, I might add), Nabors said he will not change his way of doing things.

He said he will not advise others on how to handle their homosexuality, because he believes that just because he did it his way, it doesn't mean that that is the right way to go about it for everyone.

It worked for him, but he doesn't know if it will work for others.

He was also asked if he would now be an activist for gay marriage and other gay issues, and he said that he would not.

He said that he was generally an apolitical person to begin with, never much into politics, and he wasn't going to change his way of doing things now that he is out of the closet.

I have made my stance on gay marriage known in the past, and I am not going to do it again right now.

But I find Nabors' stance refreshing.

Certain entertainers use their fame to jump on the pulpit and preach. They believe that since they are in the public eye, they have a perfect right to do that.

They preach about a lot of things. They preach about problems in far off countries, they preach about things happening in their own country, and nowadays, they preach about their sexuality.

I am sick and tired about getting hit over the head with this.

You are what you are, and if you are gay, to me, that is a private thing.

Why does everybody have to know everything about everybody?

I have liked Nabors for years, first on "The Andy Griffith Show" and then on the "Gomer Pyle" program.

Does his sexuality have anything to do with that?

No, I could care less.

Heck, it was more of a surprise the first time I heard that baritone voice come out of that country bumpkin body.

My point is this: who cares about a person's sexuality anymore, especially the private lives of Hollywood types who are usually so vapid and self centered that they almost use this as a badge of courage for them, that they feel everyone has to applaud them for?

It's time to get off the stage and move on.

And that's no "surprise, surprise, surprise."

Rant #2,242: I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night

Happy Halloween.

No, the scary day isn't here yet, but I thought I would get a jump on the festivities by wishing you a Happy Halloween a little early.

Burger King is doing the same thing, by introducing a new burger concoction that will extinguish itself by the big day on Oct. 31.

But according to the hamburger chain, it will also give you nightmares before it fades away into the sunset.

The new burger, called "Nightmare King," features a green bun, and it is basically a Whopper all dressed up for the holiday.

But this BK burger goes one step beyond, with the company claiming that the burger will give you nightmares after you eat it up.

The company says that using research subjects as guinea pigs, it found that those that ate the burger and then went to sleep had an increased chance of having a nightmare by three to five times the normal rate.

The burger chain didn't come to this conclusion alone. It actually partnered with Paramount Trials and Florida Sleep and Neuro Diagnostic Services Inc. and Goldforest Inc. to conduct a study over 10 nights with 100 participants.

Burger King said that doctors and scientists tracked the research subjects' heart rate, brain activity and breathing to determine whether they were having what they referred to as "vivid dreams" as a result of ingesting the spooky burgers.

Hmmm ... I don't know ... I think that anybody eating anything from Burger King and then going to sleep might have their sleep impacted.

Heck, I like Burger King as much as the next guy, but let's be honest about it, this is comfort food to the max, not healthy at all, lays in your stomach, and yes, that will certainly cause nightmares ... and probably indigestion too, in particular if you eat it and then go directly to sleep.

But I guess the mere possibility that one will have a flame-broiled nightmare will drive some people to try this sandwich, which doesn't come out until October 22.

Me, I have my nightmares on my own, thank you, and don't need anything else to help me get them.

Last night, I dreamed that the Boston Red Sox were going onto the World Series--

Dag nabbit, that isn't just a nightmare for this New York Yankees fan, that ended up being reality.

So as you can see, I am one person who absolutely, positively doesn't need to eat such a sandwich to see my nightmares turn into reality.

Belch!

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

Classic Rant #894 (January 30, 2013): Too Hot

Today, in the New York Metropolitan area, it is going to be around 60 degrees.

This is pretty balmy for January 30, wouldn't you say?

And it is especially balmy when you consider that on this past Friday into Saturday, we experienced temperatures that were maybe one-third of today's temperature--

And we had snow to boot!

Yes, it was in the low 20s and we had about an inch and a half of the white stuff.

The weather in this part of the world is changing.

The experts say "global warming," I say everything is kerflooey.

Just a few months ago, we experienced the mother of all hurricanes in the Northeast, Hurricane Sandy, which packed enough destruction for me that I don't ever want to see anything like that happen here, or anywhere else, again.

I think I read that last year was the warmest year on record, so whether it is global warming or things going kerflooey or something else, something is going on with our weather.

And you can't necessarily rely on your local TV weatherman or the Weather Channel, because I don't know if they really know what is going on, either.

I think maybe our standard of living has maybe caught up with our atmosphere, and that is why we are experiencing such crazy weather, especially in the Northeast.

Big cities give off heat, simply because their existence creates heat.

Tall buildings, car traffic, pollution, high concentrations of people and other factors create heat that waffles around the atmosphere and then moves on.

All of this has to impact the temperature, and although I am no meteorologist, I would say that our atmosphere, after taking it for many, many generations since the Industrial Revolution, maybe has reached its saturation point.

Our atmosphere was able to absorb all of this for hundreds of years, but it can't anymore, and that is sending things into the weather Twilight Zone.

Yes, I think that is part of what they call global warming, but again, I am no meteorologist, just a regular guy who thinks that something is awry.

I walked outside today, and the it is not only warm, but there is a thick layer of fog about that is like pea soup. That happens when the cooler land meets the warmer atmosphere (yes, I did take Earth Science in school).

Whatever the case, I guess I will bask in the warmth of the day, even though I will be inside for most of today at work.

But that bask won't last long, as I see that temperatures are going to start to plummet from today on, and get into the 20s and 30s again before we know it.

I tell you, things are kerflooey, they really are.

Rant #2,241: Getting Better (?)

For all intents and purposes, the 2018-2019 National Basketball Association season started last night with a barrel full of games, and remarkably, the New York Knicks actually won their opener.

Yes, it was at home at jam-packed Madison Square Garden, and yes, it was against the Atlanta Hawks, a horrible team that will probably stumble to 20 wins this season.

But heck, the Knicks aren't anything to write home about, either, and most experts predict that the Knicks probably won't win many more games than the Hawks will, so to get one in the books so early might be a good thing.

As I have said time and time again, there is a black cloud over the Knicks franchise that really stretches back to 1973, the year they won their last championship.

Way back when, the Knicks were painted as an "intellectual" team, a group of players who were as cerebral on the court as they were off the court.

Yes, those teams of Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, Dick Barnett, Dave DeBusschere and Bill Bradley, and others--and coached by Red Holzman--were something to behold, because they weren't just athletes; they were true icons, people that anyone could look up to not just because of their size, but because of their intellect.

When those teams were done, there were years of mediocrity, and then the Patrick Ewing era began, when players like Charles Oakley, Charlie Ward, John Starks, Anthony Mason, Greg Anthony and others--coached by Jeff Van Gundy--defined aggressiveness and bully tactics, and while they never won the big one, they were as entertaining to watch as any NBA team was during the 1990s.

But really, for the past 20 some odd years or so, the Knicks franchise has been in the dumpster, constantly going through changes and plans that could make even a corporate executive's head spin.

And all the while, Madison Square Garden, the Knicks home, is packed to the rafters, with fans that not only have deep pockets and who crave the sport, they also don't have a representative team to mirror this passion.

Through the Carmelo Anthony period and even the current one, with Kristops Porzingis the face of the franchise, the team is never in contention, never fun to watch, and has that black cloud over it that seems to never go away--on the court or off the court.

This season was supposed to be another one of those "wait 'til next year" seasons, what with Porzingis hurt and the team made up of very young (teens and early 20s) players, castoffs, and others who should kiss the ground that they are in the NBA to begin with.

But the Knicks actually won their home opener, their first game of the season, last night in convincing fashion, a 126-107 thrashing that at least gave one hope that maybe this season won't be as bad as just about everyone has predicted.

This is a team led by the likes of Coach David Fizdale, and players Tim Hardaway Jr,, Kevin Knox, Trey Burke, Enes Kanter, and more castoffs than you see at the can and bottle redemption area in your local supermarket.

But at least for one game, the Knicks looked really good, looked like a well-oiled machine, and gave fans hope for something special for this season.

My son and I are going to the Knicks-Nets game on Friday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and maybe, just maybe, the Knicks can get something started here, defy the critics, and make something of this season.

The Nets lost their opening game, 103-100 to the Detroit Pistons, and you know that they are going to be fired up for their first home game on the schedule.

So you have the upstart Knicks against a fired-up Nets team, and my son and I are looking forward to a really good game.

Can the Knicks actually win two in a row to begin their season?

If so, maybe there is some sun finally peaking through that black cloud.

Classic Rant #893 (January 29, 2013): The Real Champion

If you are a regular reader of this column, you know that I often write about professional wrestling.

I have been a fan of this "sport" for the better part of my life, and my son's interest made me get into it all over again.

Anyway, with the WWE's Wrestlemania coming up, there is potentially very, very big news in the world of pro wrestling, news that would even interest people who aren't necessarily fans of the sport.

Reportedly, the WWE is trying to work out an agreement with pro wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino to appear at their Hall of Fame event, which directly precedes Wrestlemania, this year being held at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey.

The Hall of Fame event is being held at Madison Square Garden, the very arena where Sammartino, and the WWE under its various monickers, made a name for itself in the 1950s to the 1980s, Sammartino's heyday.

This is very, very big news. Sammartino and the WWE--and in particular, its chairman, Vince McMahaon--have been on the outs for at least 20 years.

Most people have speculated that it is a money matter, but Sammartino has never liked the phoniness that pretty much governs pro wrestling. He didn't like it when he was wrestling, and he doesn't like where it has gone today.

There is probably something else that went awry between Sammartino and McMahon, and we may never know what happened, but McMahon's son in law, who goes under the name Triple H and is himself a former wrestler and now an executive with the company, is trying to iron out a deal.

This is big news, as Sammartino is really the Babe Ruth of pro wrestling.

Without his popularity, pro wrestling would have never reached the heights that it occupies today.

Sammartino, born in Abruzzo, Italy, but who adopted his home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as his own, was the real deal in the 1950s through the 1980s.

He was probably the only pro wrestler that anybody took seriously as a true athlete during that time.

He was the face of the WWWF, as John Cena is the face of today's WWE.

He was the champion many, many times, and he was the guy who pulled pro wrestling out of the Gorgeous George phase into something more athletic.

Sammartino was the one who would appear on the Tonight Show, showing Johnny Carson his wrestling moves.

I mean, would you take, say, an Iron Sheik for his words or Bruno Sammartino?

He single handedly saved pro wrestling from being a total side show, a mockery of the Greco-Roman style.

Sure, Sammartino was probably in a number of questionable matches over the years, but he was really the real deal, way before the Hulk Hogans and the Ric Flairs and those types of wrestlers brought the sport to another level.

Sammartino wrestled in more dumps and dives than there are garbage disposals on the planet. Today, when the WWE fills arenas like they do during Wrestlemania, when 60,000 or more people attend, they all owe it to Sammartino, when he was wrestling in front of maybe a couple hundred people.

This guy is the real deal, and if they can work out their differences, I guarantee you that this even will be covered by mainstream media.

Heck, my mother knows who Bruno Sammartino was, and is.

Sammartino, and for that matter, McMahon, are not getting any younger. One of the stipulations is that McMahon have nothing to do with Sammartino's appearance, and I do mean nothing.

There remains a lot of bad blood there, but maybe a Band-Aid can be put on that, just maybe, for a moment.

Let's hope Sammartino and the WWE can get together on this.

It is something that needs to be done.

Rant #2,240: Changes

A few weeks ago, when my family and I were on our cruise, my cellphone did not work at all, and I figured that it was ready for the scrap heap.

I could not power it up, which was not anything new to me, really, as the battery had been wearing down for some time, and the phone constantly had to be charged and recharged.

This was something I was living with for about two years or so, and since it was an old phone, anyway, I figured that when its time would come, it would simply tell me that its time had come, and lo and behold, on the cruise, it spoke volumes to me about its condition.

So when we returned home from the cruise, one of my priorities was to get a new phone--which was put off temporarily when, somehow, I was able to charge up the phone for what I thought was the final time, and I was actually able to use it for about a day.

But then what happened on the cruise happened at home, and the phone died pretty quickly, which forced me into my local Verizon store to purchase a new phone.

I enjoy my new phone--it is certainly newer than what I had, it is slightly bigger, and its is really nice not having to charge up the phone constantly like I had been doing--but the problem was, what do I do with the old phone?

A lot of people turn their old phones into charity, but since the phone didn't work anyway, I figured that it was useless to do so. Plus, it did contain a lot of my data, and even a professionally purged phone still has a minute amount of data that nobody else really needs to have or see.

When I asked the Verizon salesman what to do with the phone, he told me, "Take a hammer to it," but I figured that I would simply put it away as a relic of another time.

But, you see, the phone had other ideas for itself, and I, in turn, had other ideas for the phone.

I had read online that people used their old phone for other uses after purchasing a new phone, including one account I read where somebody still used the phone, but only as an alarm clock.

My son and I watch professional wrestling together, and that means that we watch hours of WWE programming each week.

Much of that programming is on the USA Network, one of the most popular cable networks in the country, but there are some WWE shows that we watch via the WWE Network, a work of genius by the pro wrestling organization that is basically a Netflix of this sport.

One show that we watch on the network is NXT, which is sort of the WWE's minor league, not quite up to Raw or Smackdown standards, but still athletic and entertaining.

We had been watching this show through the phone in a setup in one of our bedrooms, where we connected the phone to an old HDTV that we had that wasn't doing much of anything. This way, we could comfortably sit on a couch in this room and watch the show as if it were an over the air show.

Well, with the phone dead, how were we going to continue to do this?

I did a lot of research, found the proper connection for the new phone, and ordered it online.

But I figured that I would try the old phone one more time.

I connected a charger that I had, rather than plug the phone into a line into a wall socket, and lo and behold, within a couple of minutes, the old phone charged right up.

I then took the old phone into the bedroom, hooked it up to the TV as I had been doing, and Voila!, the phone worked as the delivery device for the WWE Network in that room, so we could watch WWE Network shows on that device as we had been doing for several years now.

What is even better, the device we use has a built-in charger, so as long as the old phone is plugged into it, it is constantly being charged, and thus, able to do what we want it to do 24 hours a day.

There are still some problems.

The phone, in its dying days as a phone, would overheat after about an hour or so of use this way, and my son--who uses this setup a bit more than I do, watching other shows on the WWE Network and on Facebook--has told me that it now extends to about an hour and a half or two hours until it overheats.

In the past, we have put the phone into a glass along with ice cubes in a plastic bag, and that seems to cool it down considerably, so we have employed that tactic again, and it seems to work.

But we know we are living on borrowed time. Eventually, the phone is just going to die, period.

That is the inevitable, but at least we can use it now, until it breathes its last breath.

We have repurposed the phone as a receiver, and right now, even with the glitches, it seems to do the job, so we are going to ride this horse for as long as we can until it finally drops dead.

So if you are in a similar situation, and don't know what to do with your old phone, see what features you can still use and don't get rid of the phone.

It might not work as a phone anymore, but you can remake it to fit whatever need you might have.

The morale of the story: don't kick a good phone until it is down and out.

For once, use modern technology to your advantage.