Rant #2,404: Love Theme From Romeo and Juliet is Bad Moon Rising as we Get Back but Too Busy Thinking About My Baby as the One

Good morning to those who are reading the blog in the morning, good afternoon to those reading this blog in the afternoon, and good evening to those who are reading this blog in the evening.

I want to cover all the bases and be inclusive today, because baseball comes to Merry Olde England this weekend, and I want to make sure that I get everybody acknowledged on both sides of the Atlantic.

Heck, the record shows that plenty of people in Europe read this blog, and I just want to make sure that they are counted.

Let's Go Yankees! The Red Sox are the home team in England this weekend, but my heart has always been with the team from the Bronx. And they are as hot as a pistol now, and hopefully, that situation will continue in England.

Anyway, this has little to do with what I am talking about today, but here is my segueway. Get ready--

Fifty years ago, back in 1969, who would have even thought that a Major League Baseball game would be played in Europe? Heck, we were mesmerized by the fact that in just a few weeks, man was going to set foot on the moon. That was enough to swallow way back when.

But what were we listening to on the radio back then, and I am talking about on the AM band, which was still a vital cog in our music listening 50 years ago.

Top 40 was stil hot, and what were the top songs that were shaping our lives 50 years ago, exactly half century ago, on June 28, 1969?

Let's take a peek. And I am going to be doing this differently this time around. I will count down the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from 10 to 1, to make it even more interesting than it already is.

So, let's go--

Coming in at No. 10 for the week was the vocal version of "Grazing In the Grass" by the Friends of Distinction. Although this act was not as successful as its sister act the 5th Dimension, they did have numerous hits, and this might be the most remembered one of all of them.

At No. 9 was "Israelites" by Desmond Dekker and the Aces, the first ska record to hit the top 10 in America. It was such a different sounding record that it showed that even Top 40 could be a bellwether of new sounds.

Coming in at No. 8 was "Good Morning Starshine," another pop hit from the "Hair" Broadway show, that was warbled by Oliver. The show produced a number of hit singles done by popular artists, including those by the Cowsills and Three Dog Night.

Elvis Presley remained a vital artist in the late 1960s, and he had a slew of "message" songs that hit the tone of the time. One of his best was "In the Ghetto," which hit No. 7 this week.

Blood, Sweat and Tears was one of the hottest bands in the country 50 years ago, and "Spinning Wheel" was the sixth most popular song on the chart this week. Again, AM Top 40 was expanding its playlists back then, and this pop/rock/jazz outfit fit that bill perfectly.

Looking at the Top 5, the aforementioned Three Dog Night would begin their incredible run of hits with "One," which hit No. 5 this week. The song was written by one of the hottest songwriters of the day, Harry Nilsson.

Marvin Gaye had one of his many hits this week, with "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" coming in at No. 4. Gaye would soon go more conscious of himself and his environment with his music, so this song represented one of his last Motown hits that wasn't a "message" record.

What would a Top 40 chart in the 1960s be without the Beatles? Well, we did not get to know this week, as "Get Back" fell to No. 3 from its No. 1 perch of the week before.

Creedence Clearwater Revival brought "swamp rock" to the Top 40, and "Bad Moon Rising" was the second most popular song in the country this week. Even with all of their hits, the band would never have a No. 1 single on the Billboard charts.

And at No. 1 was ...

Henry Mancini with "Love Theme From Romeo and Juliet," which would occupy the top spot for two weeks. Franco Zefferelli's interpretation of Shakespeare's classic tragedy was one of the hottest movies of the time, stretching the story to then more modern sensibilities, including the use of nudity in the film, so this single and its accompanying LP were big sellers during this period.

The highest debuting record on the chart was a classic, Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," which came in at No. 59. The song--written by Diamond, a New Yorker but somehow appropriated by the Red Sox nation as a battle song, as it is written about native daughter Caroline Kennedy--was one of Diamond's biggest hits, rising to No. 4 in a few weeks' time.

The biggest mover on the singles chart--the song that moved up the most places on the chart from one week to another--was another classic, "In the Year 2525" by one-hit wonder Zager and Evans. This tune would eventually top the chart for six weeks during the summer of 1969, and then the act was pretty much never heard from again, having just one "Bubbling Under" single afterward and that was it.

So there you have it, the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 from exactly 50 years ago.

Lots of great stuff on that chart, and I am sure that you probably remember each and every one of these tunes from way back when.

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

And "Cherri-O" as baseball comes to us from the "mother country" this weekend.

Classic Rant #1,049 (September 25, 2013): Mariano's Last Save

At Yankee Stadium yesterday, at 6:48 p.m., Mariano Rivera posted his last save in the uniform of the New York Yankees.

Well, not really, but kinda.

That is when the Mariano Rivera bobbleheads arrived at the Stadium.

What am I talking about?

The Yankees had been touting "Mariano Rivera Bobblehead Day" for months on end, a final, nice sendoff for the greatest relief pitcher of all time, who is sailing into the sunset after this season is over.

The Yankees are out of the playoff picture, or just about out, so after a wonderful ceremony on Sunday to salute their retiring player, this bobblehead day was supposed to be icing on the cake.

However, there was one small problem.

Fans who came early to the game on Tuesday didn't get their bobbleheads, or at least didn't get them until way after they entered the Stadium.

Reports are that due to a delivery problem, the bobbleheads did not make it to the Stadium until nearly 7 p.m.

Early arriving fans received vouchers for the bobbleheads, but reports are that since only a certain number of bobbleheads were ordered, a lot of fans who should have received the keepsake were shut out because they arrived early.

I mean, it was the only reason to be there for some, as the Yankees were drubbed by the Rays 7-0. The game was over by the third pitch of the contest.

What a way to foul up!

Even Mariano, the great closer, could not really save this one.

The delivery truck did.

But like I said at the opening of this Rant, the great Rivera will get credit for this save, even though for once, he really had nothing to do with it.

It is "sexier" to say he saved it than a delivery truck, isn't it?

Rant #2,403: Half and Half

No, I have not decided yet who I will vote for President.

I mean, between Alvin and Snoopy.

I just cannot decide.

But what I have already decided is that if it were put to a vote, and I was able to cast a ballot, I would not vote for the Tampa Bay Rays to split their home games between St. Petersburg and Montreal, no way, no how.

These types of arrangements never work out, and even though the Tampa Bay franchise is reeling as far as attendance is concerned, a split home franchise is not going to solve the problem--it will only create new ones.

Split home franchises never work. Look at the NBA's Kansas City/Omaha Kings. Not only did this not work, but the Kings ended up abandoning both cities, picking up and moving far, far away--as far away as they could--to Sacramento.

Currently, you have one split home franchise playing in the four major sports today, and that is the New York Islanders in the NHL. While they await their new home to be built at Belmont Park in Elmont, Long Island, New York, the team splits its home games between Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the Nassau Coliseum, its original home, in Uniondale, Long Island. Will this stadium in Belmont ever be built? Who knows, but by splitting its home games between two venues, it has infuriated its fan base--and you can bet if the Belmont venue does not get built, the team is outta here for good.

The plan that is being floated by Major League Baseball is that the Rays would play the first part of the season in St. Petersburg--where its home, Tropicana Field, is located--and then it would play the second part of the season in Montreal.

All that this would do is make the team a nomadic franchise, with its two "homes" separated by hundreds of miles.

Why would anybody attend a Rays home game in Florida, knowing that the exciting part of the schedule--the second half of the season--would be played in a different country?

And why would fans in Montreal go to the games, if the team is not really theirs and theirs alone?

Look, regular season MLB baseball in Florida evidently does not work, and may never work.

You have a very good Rays team drawing flies, forcing the team to close off the top of the indoor stadium and selling only seating in the bottom tier, cutting seating by something like 50 percent and making it appear that fannies are in the seats, which they are not.

You also have a horrid team in Miami in the Marlins, who draw less then flies--if that is possible--yet have a relatively brand new stadium, courtesy of greased palms ... and I am not talking about the trees adorning the landscape there.

So what is a poor Rays franchise to do?

With the help of MLB, they are basically putting a gun to the head of the Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg area, stating that they will have to do this unworkable plan if they do not get a new stadium. And since the plan is unworkable, they will eventually abandon Florida forever, and move to more welcome environs ...

But not necessarily in Montreal.

The Canadian city also has no stadium for the Rays to play in, and is about as far along with constructing a new stadium as Tampa Bay is.

More welcome mats are closer to a new stadium in places likes Las Vegas, Portland, and the Carolinas, so it is not a done deal if the Rays do play some of their home schedule in Canada that they will actually be moving there.

Look, MLB sees a major problem with the Rays, and an embarrassing problem with them related to their attendance, which is at the bottom or near the bottom in attendance every year, competing with the Marlins for the lowest fan base in the game.

But the Marlins have a new stadium, the Rays have bupkis.

So with this announcement, the Rays and MLB have basically said that if we don't get a new stadium in Tampa Bay or St. Petersburg, they are going to be gone eventually.

There have been a number of proposals for a new stadium, but nothing has really been formulated just yet ... and if those towns want a rehash of the Brooklyn Dodgers/New York Giants situation of more than 60 years ago--when New York City had its bluff called by both teams moving to California when Mayor Robert Wagner sat on his hands when each franchise asked for a new stadium and got ignored--then they will get what they pay for, which means they will have nothing.

My family and I have personally been to a couple of Rays games at the Trop over the years when we have been on vacation, and we will be going again this time around, too.

I always liked the place--going from 90 degree heat to a constant 68 degrees is really nice--and it is so different from seeing a game at Yankee Stadium that it is difficult to put it all into words.

The people are nicer, the prices are cheaper, and yes, you can basically sit where you want to sit, because so few people are there.

It is a shame that Tampa/St. Pete may be dropping the ball on this, and that MLB may also be dropping the same ball by splitting the team between two cities that have nothing to do with each other.

It is a big error in the middle of a big game, and there is no telling what the final outcome will be, but you can bet that this thing is going into extra innings.

P.S.: This just in ...

Here is what the Rays sent out yesterday to interested parties. They are now calling the concept with Montreal a "sister cities" initiative, and trying to show people that this is the only tenable way at keeping the Rays in Florida, even if for only 40 games a season.

Classic Rant #1,048 (September 24, 2013): Two To Three To Four To Five To Six, Over and Out

To continue on "My Three Sons," on yesterday's episode shown on MeTV, Katy gave birth to the triplets in one of the classic episodes of the series.

So, one of "My Three Sons"--actually four sons--fathered his own three sons.

That was big news in TV back then, and watching the episode more than 40 years later, the entire episode was very well done and brought a tear to my eye.

It really is hard to believe that these kids today are in their mid-40s.

Then we go from the top of the heap to the very, very bottom.

Last night was the season premiere of "Two Broke Girls," without a doubt the very, very worst sitcom I have ever seen in my entire life.

And yes, it is on CBS, the former home of "My Three Sons."

My wife enjoys the show for whatever reason, so I do watch it on occasion, and last night, I kind of watched it.

The two actresses, whose names I will not use here because they really should be quite embarrassed at what they are doing, are still struggling as the third season of this show unfolded.

A customer tells the dark-haired one that he has been away for awhile, and he asks about what has happened since he has been gone.

Well, the dark-haired one goes into this diatribe about world events, personal events, sexual events, drugs, sex, you name it, without taking a breath for the next three minutes.

When she finally stops, the guy says something to the effect of, "All I wanted to know was if there was anything new on the menu."

Hah hah. How hilarious this is!

About a minute later, we get the requisite--for this show--breast jokes, sex jokes, puberty jokes, male potency jokes ... I mean, this is a real laugh fest, isn't it.

At about the 10 or 15 minute mark of the show, I told my wife that I had had enough, and I simply went to sleep as she continued to watch this tripe.

The show is popular, I will give it that. Why, I really don't know. I think a lot of women like it, because the girls are as slutty as they come ... and it is almost like satisfying a female fantasy by watching them in their adventures.

But what a bunch of garbage. I don't think I have ever watched a show that is so poorly written.

I know that this is 2013 and not 1968, but I don't know about you, but in some ways, I wish it was 1968 again, at least TV-wise.

Television really has become a vast wasteland, a place where garbage is appreciated beyond quality.

And it wasn't always that way, I can tell you that.

And yes, as I am typing this, "My Three Sons" is recording in the other room.

Maybe that show has become my oasis in a desert of garbage, but whatever the case, the Douglases are my type of family.

"Two Broke Girls" needs fixing, and maybe it really needs to be neutered.

What a piece of pure garbage.

Rant #2,402: Elected

As we move closer to 2020, people are jumping into the presidential race at an alarming rate.

As the Democrat's debates are ready to begin, there must be about two dozen politicians who truly believe that they have what it takes to unseat Donald Trump as our president, and bring the top spot to the Dems once again.

You have everybody from former vice president Joe Biden to New York City mayor Bill deBlasio, all of whom believe that they would fit well as our president.

Personally, I think that one of these candidates is worse than the other, and none of them have the necessary chutzpah to unseat President Trump, but I do know two perpetual candidates that might just be the best choices for the commander in chief.

First, we have Alvin. You remember him. He was the leader of the Chipmunks, along with Simon and Theodore, all chipmunks with that funny voice that have been entertaining us in cartoon form--and in a few movies--for the past 60 years.

Their real leader was David Seville, their human mentor, who was really Ross Bagdasarian in real life, the guy who discovered that if you could speed up voices, you could make cartoon characters sound like ... err ... chipmunks, or at least what chipmunks might sound like if they spoke English.

Anyway, if you remember the cartoon series, the three Chipmunks always got in trouble for doing one thing or another, and David Seville was always there to bail them out.

But they hit it big as recording artists, and their "Christmas Song," in particular, demonstrated that even though they always got in trouble, their singing was a salvation for them.

In 1960, David Seville and the Chipmunks decided to get political, in a funny way, and they released "Alvin For President."

And here, from the Metrolyrics site (http://www.metrolyrics.com/alvin-for-president-lyrics-the-chipmunks.html), are the song's lyrics, which I do not own, do not have rights to, but put here for the fun of it:

"[Alvin, speaking]

And further more, my dear friends, what this country needs is a great leader! Me! I promise you TWO bicycles in every garage, four Christmases every year and...

[Dave, speaking over Alvin]

Hey Simon, Theodore, what's he doing?

[Simon, speaking]

He's running for President.

[Theodore, speaking]

(Laughs) Yeah, President.

[Dave, speaking]

Really? Well isn't that *gibberish* PRESIDENT?

[Alvin, speaking]

Did you call me?

[Dave, speaking]

Alvin, you can't be President.

[Alvin, speaking]

Why?

[Dave, speaking]

Well, because you're too young, and-

[Alvin, speaking]

In addition, when I'm president...

[Dave, cutting him off]

Alvin be quiet and sing our new song. Now here are the words.

"It's nice,"

[Chipmunks]

It's nice,

[Dave, Speaking]

"It's good,"

[Chipmunks]

It's good.

[Dave, speaking]

"When you live like you should,"

[Chipmunks]

When you live like you should,

[Dave, Speaking]

"In peaceful harmony"

[Chipmunks]

In peaceful harmony,

[Dave, speaking]

"Take our,"

[Chipmunks]

Take our,

[Dave, speaking]

"Advice,"

[Chipmunks]

Advice,

[Dave, speaking]

"The way we live is nice,"

[Chipmunks]

The way we live is nice,

[Dave, speaking]

"In peaceful harmony"

[Alvin]

I hope you vote for me!

[Dave, speaking]

Now quit that, quit it.

"We're so,"

[Chipmunks]

We're so,

[Dave, speaking

"Polite,"

[Chipmunks]

Polite,

[Dave, speaking]

"We hardly ever fight,"

[Chipmunks]

We hardly ever fight,

[Dave, speaking]

"We live in harmony,"

[Chipmunks]

We live in harmony,

[Dave, speaking]

That's better.

"Don't care if we live in a tent,"

[Chipmunks]

Don't care if we live in a tent,

[Dave, speaking]

"Just as long as we pay the rent,"

[Chipmunks]

Just as long as-

[Alvin, interrupting]

I'm your president!

[Dave, speaking]

"It's nice,"

[Chipmunks]

It's nice,

[Dave, speaking]

"It's good,"

[Chipmunks]

It's good,

[Dave, speaking]

"When you live like you should,"

[Chipmunks]

When you live like you should,

[Dave, speaking]

"In peaceful harmony,"

[Alvin]

In Washington, D.C!

[Dave, speaking]

Stop changing the words!

[Alvin, speaking]

And with me in the White House-

[Dave, shouting]

ALVIN!

[Alvin, speaking]

And, another thing, dear friends. Why shouldn't we have a penny ice cream cone?

[Theodore, speaking]

Uh, I don't know!

[Alvin, speaking]

Theodore, you can be my campaign manager.

[Theodore, speaking]

(laughs) Oh boy, your honor!

[Alvin, speaking]

And Simon, I believe I'll make you vice-president!

[Simon, speaking]

Why not!

[Dave, speaking]

Mr. President, will you and your cabinet kindly sing?

[Chipmunks]

We don't care if we live in a tent,

Just as long as Alvin's President!

[Alvin, speaking]

That's me!

[Simon and Theodore]

He's nice,

He's good,

Send Alvin,

Yes you should,

To Washington D.C!

[Alvin, speaking]

And in conclusion, dear friends,

[Dave, speaking]

Alvin, will you...

[Alvin, speaking]

I am certain you will elect me the next President of the United States of America!

[Simon and Theodore, cheering till fade-out]

We want Alvin!

We want Alvin!

We want Alvin!

We want Alvin!"

Well, the tune only reached No. 95 during that very presidential year, so I guess it did not have much of an impact, but it had no competitors until 1968, when the Royal Guardsmen released "Snoopy For President."

You remember the Royal Guardsmen. They put cartoonist Charles Schulz's Snoopy on the rock and roll map with a number of songs that became hits, including "Snoopy vs. The Red Baron" and my personal favorite rock Christmas song, "Snoopy's Christmas."

Heck, Schulz even sued them for using the character without his permission, but when he saw the money that was being made by the hits featuring Snoopy, he came to an agreement with the band, and they could record Snoopy songs into perpetuity as long as he got a cut of the pie.

But during the very presidential year of 1968, the band went political, in a funny way, and released "Snoopy For President." From the Lyricsfreak site (https://www.lyricsfreak.com/t/the+royal+guardsmen/snoopy+for+president_20855267.html) are the song's lyrics, which I do not own, do not have rights to, but put here for the fun of it:

The time had come to elect a President

And all the famous candidates thought they were heaven-sent

They screamed and raved and pounded their hands above their hearts

But soon the noble promises were hard to tell apart

Waiting at the pumpkin patch, a dog sincere and brave

And everybody hoped that soon the country he would save

The pumpkin said "The day has come for you to take a stand"

"For love has left the people across our native land"

Some wear the sign of the elephant and some wear the sign of the mule

But we'll hold the sign of the beagle high and love will shine right through

All the politicians, they swore he couldn't win

But Snoopy only shook his head and flashed his famous grin

He jumped into his faithful friend, the Sopwith Camel plane

And bounced around the countryside from Washington to Maine

[Brief sound effect-airplane zooming]

Some wear the sign of the elephant and some wear the sign of the mule

But we'll hold the sign of the beagle high and love will shine right through

New York State was lookin' bad till Snoopy made a speech

Soon Illinois and Tennessee were both within his reach

He won the vote in Oregon but time was growin' thin

And back at the convention hall, the votes were pourin' in

Snoopy smiled his way into the hearts of everyone

But when the votes were counted up, they found he needed one

The winning vote for Snoopy came when a stranger raised his hand

Snoopy turned, the stranger spoke [voice of the Red Baron] "Mein friend, vee meet again!"

Some wear the sign of the elephant and some wear the sign of the mule

[Chorus finishes against a background of a speaker announcing "Introducing... the next President... of the United States of America!"]

[Chorus repeats and fades against a background of applaus] 

Well, this didn't do much better on the charts, only reaching No. 85, so I guess people didn't vote for this tune, either.

But I put it to you: is it Alvin or is it Snoopy?

You can hear the Alvin tune on YouTube at https://youtu.be/T54ohJRgD9c and the Snoopy tune at https://youtu.be/QddHVitk7KA, so you can really decide for yourself who you would choose to lead this country.

And don't forget to vote! It is your patriotic duty.

And we believe in inclusion and diversity here ... is it going to be a chipmunk or a dog?

You have the power to decide!

Classic Rant #1,047 (September 23, 2013): My Three Sons (and several others)

As I said several Rants ago, I record the classic television sitcom "My Three Sons" during the week on MeTV. It is on at 5:30 a.m., and I record it and watch it in the evening.

Just in recent days, the sitcom--which was on an incredible dozen years, from 1960-1972--has entered one of its major story arcs, Katie's (Tina Cole) pregnancy, and eventual birth, of triplets (boys--what else could it have been?).

"My Three Sons" was the first TV show that I could ever remember that had story arcs, where a group of episodes within a season had the same theme running through them.

This is fairly commonplace today, but for the late 1960s--1968 in this case--it was all new.

These story arcs pretty much took hold when the show went to color from black and white and moved from ABC to CBS, and became a solid hit for the Tiffany Network in the mid-1960s and throughout its run.

The first one was toyed with in the black and white years, when oldest brother Mike (Tim Considine) was going to get married to his sweetheart (Meredith MacRae) and move away.

The next major story arc was when Ernie (Barry Livingston), once Chip's (Stanley Livingston) playmate, got adopted into the family, as did Uncle Charley (William Demarest), who took over for Bub (William Frawley) as the chief cook and bottle washer of the family.

This was followed by several other story arcs, including Robbie (Don Grady) getting married to Katie, her pregnancy, Robbie and Katie's independence from the rest of the family, Steve's (Fred MacMurray) courtship and marriage to Barbara (Beverly Garland) and Chip's eventual courtship and marriage to Polly (Ronne Troup).

The more I watch the show as an adult, the more I think the show was popular because people welcomed the Douglas family each week into their homes for a half hour as if they were part of their own family.

The shows move slowly, aren't filled with big guffaws or laughs--was this TV's first dramedy?--and the scripts are as clean as an unused baby wipe.

But the whole thing works just fine.

I can't imagine how a show like this would play out today, but you can bet that the Douglases would be part of a long line of dysfunctional families that litter the TV landscape today.

Actually, I don't want to even think about that, because I like the Douglases just fine the way they are, a typical 1960s sitcom family often put into incredible, but believable, circumstances.

They are welcome into my family anytime.

Rant #2,401: A-B-C

We often remember where we were when specific incidents happen that shape our lives.

I remember that I was in my first grade class when it was announced that President John F. Kennedy had been shot, and died of his wounds.

I remember hearing about the senseless murder of Martin Luther King Jr. My family and I were in the living room of our apartment and were watching the TV together, when the news broke, and my mother kept on saying over and over, "Oh my God!"

I remember hearing about Robert F. Kennedy getting shot during a campaign appearance out west. I heard about it the next morning, and everyone carried their transistor radios to school to hear the latest, and eventually tragic, updates on the legislator.

I remember that when the Challenger went down, I was at work, the bosses allowed us to turn the radio all the way up, and we listened as the ship exploded, taking all of its passengers with it.

And to a much lesser degree, I remember hearing about the death of Michael Jackson, and hearing about it in a most unlikely place. My family and I were on vacation, and we were at a television taping of the weekly TNA wrestling show at Universal Studios in Orlando. A woman sitting next to my wife told us what she had heard, and the news spread like wildfire as the wrestlers jumped and thumped each other in the ring before us.

Today is the 10th anniversary of his passing, and he remains as polarizing a figure now as he was back then.

What can you say about Michael Jackson?

He seemed to be the ultimate paradox.

On one hand, this guy was the ultimate entertainer, and had been one through his childhood. He was this generation's version of Sammy Davis Jr., a guy who could do anything: sing, dance, act. And he seemed to be having a great time doing it.

On the other hand, Jackson seemed to have had demons the size of Godzilla within him, and they made him outwardly a very strange person. Plastic surgery and admissions of extremely strange behavior bedeviled him as an adult.

And a lot of that behavior had to do with his almost open relationship he had with children.

From afar, children seemed to adore his almost pixie-like persona, an adult who was sort of an unofficial kid, and one whose music was relevant and for the moment.

But up close, Jackson seemed to be a very troubled adult, too close to kids for just about anybody to feel safe with him.

But he was the self-proclaimed "King of Pop," and everyone--kids and adults and even grandparents--adored this guy, bought his records, and made him the top singer and the most popular personality on the planet.

This happened even as he was being accused of getting too close to kids, and even admitting to having them over to his Neverland combine, and having them in his bedroom.

He openly spoke about his relationship with children, and for some, he made us feel that what was happening was commonplace, was normal, was something that he did as this eternal child, and that there was nothing happening that anyone should be concerned about.

But many people kind of figured that this was not normal behavior by any means, for anyone, and that Jackson had some explaining to do.

Sure, he somehow got married to Elvis Presley's daughter for a short time--a keen P.R. move to make him look like he was just like most other guys--but the rumors persisted, following him to his grave.

Although never convicted of anything during his lifetime, his fame--and stories about what actually was happening behind the scenes--only grew after his death.

What really was happening at Neverland?

A recent documentary--which I have not personally seen--supposedly shed some new light on the goings on at Neverland, but it is also suspect, because it featured two men who claimed they were molested by Jackson, but who had previously said that nothing went on there.

But the rumors persist.

Me, I do have an opinion on all of this, so here goes, for better or worse:

I do believe that Jackson was a molester, and that he was mentally ill, Through all the great music he put out, there was another side of him that was perverse and cruel.

I also believe that he died at precisely the right time to keep his fame going into perpetuity. If he were alive today, I believe he would be facing the same fate as R. Kelley and Bill Cosby have faced, that their past actions are under intense scrutiny for the former and has led to incarceration for the latter.

Jackson paid millions to kids and their families to keep quiet about what was going on at Neverland, so he was never convicted of anything, but his near-bragging about his lifestyle told me right then and there that there was something funny going on with Jackson and his young mates.

Can one separate the sterling entertainer and the actual very flawed man?

I simply don't know.

There are those who think that Jackson was god on earth, that he could do no wrong, and they can listen to his music and watch his dance moves without any hesitation.

There are others who are completely repulsed by this creature, and want nothing ever to do with him.

I have Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 records in my collection. I have not listened to any of them in a long time, which is not terribly unusual for me, because I kind of flit from one artist to another, and right now, I am simply not keen on listening to these records--the same situation I am in with Bill Cosby recordings, of which I have plenty.

I, personally, cannot separate the man from what I believe, and have believed for decades, were his actions toward children.

To sum up, I personally believe he was a pedophile, an extremely sick human being who needed massive help that he never, ever got.

But when I hear "A-B-C" or any of the other early Jackson 5 tunes on radio and TV, boy, do they bring back lots of memories.

He was a cute kid, had incredible talent, and was primed to take over the world.

What happened along the way to doing that I do believe was sad, really sad, and I cannot separate his two very different personas.

Michael Jackson is an enigma who will continue to be just that until the end of time.

He is simply a hard nut to crack, and I think he will probably be that way forever.

And no, trying to figure him out isn't as easy as 1-2-3.

Classic Rant #1,046 (September 20, 2013): Playboy Played Out

I am sure that you heard that Playboy Magazine has named Kate Moss as its cover girl for its upcoming 60th anniversary issue.

The model will also be featured in a nude pictorial in that issue.

That is all fine and good, if that is what they want.

But the magazine has compared the featuring of this paper thin, often bullimic-looking model to that of Marilyn Monroe, who, as you know, graced their first cover, and was their first big bombshell model, way back when.

It is nice that they picked a model who isn't 20-ish to be featured, I will give them that.

I am sure this will placate the average age of the men who read the magazine, an age group which is at least in its 40s.

But to compare Moss to Monroe is like comparing a Yugo to a Cadillac.

Sure, both have lived troubled lives, to some extent, and Monroe never reached her 40th birthday.

But as far as pure physical beauty, how can you compare the paper-thin and sickly looking Moss to the voluptuous, physically alluring Monroe?

(And yes, I did pick a really good photo of Moss to grace this Rant, but we have all seen the less-then-stunning Moss photos too.)

Yes, Monroe probably had some plastic surgery here and there, but she was a beautiful woman.

She was, and continues to be, an icon of what beauty is, and yes, what tragedy is, too.

Comparing the sickly looking Moss--the leader of the "heroin chic" modeling movement--to Monroe is such a poor comparison, but, ironically, it probably mirrors the times we are currently in.

Magazine sales, in general, have gone into the toilet.

People simply don't take the time anymore to pore over magazines of any ilk, and certainly not magazines that feature the human body, the female human body.

I also just read that Penthouse is in financial trouble, and Playboy has certainly been through very hard times too.

People who want hardcore or softcore porn simply have to turn on their computer, and they can get what they want instantly.

So you can say the voluptousness of the past, when Playboy was almost a necessary diversion for just about every young male in the country, has been replaced by the thinness of the present, when Playboy really is your father's magazine, not yours, if you are under 40 or even 50.

Monroe is a sex symbol for the ages; Moss isn't a sex symbol at all.

And maybe that is the point that Playboy is trying to make.

But I am not ready to give them that much credit.

Rant #2,400: I Want To Take You Higher

As I welcome myself back to my usual weekly perch, I also congratulate myself on the fact that this is the 2,400th entry at the Ranting and Raving Blog.

Or is it? More about that later.

The blog started out 10 years ago as a place where I could say what I wanted about topics that I wanted to talk about when I wanted to talk about them.

When you are a writer that is paid to write about a certain subject--with me, it has been military stores, meaning commissaries (supermarkets) and exchanges (department stores)--you kind of get straitjacketed about what you can say with your words.

Sure, it is interesting, but you can't really talk about things that you want to talk about, and you certainly cannot put a personal perspective on anything you write.

Here, I can basically do whatever I want to do.

And unlike other blogs, I do not search out people reading what I have to say.

I know that people around the world read this blog, but I do not campaign for their readership.

The blog is in a couple of search engines, and yes, it is monetized, but at the rate I am going, I might need at least another five years to see a penny from this thing.

And that is all fine with me.

Now, about the numbering situation ...

In February 2014, or about a year before the original Ranting and Raving Blog was hacked, I evidently made a mistake with my numbering of the individual blog posts, jumping almost 100 numbers at one point.

My eyesight if often bad in the morning, and for a post of, let's say 1,214 I mistakenly entered 1,314 and went from there for a while, until I noticed this and corrected it in midstream.

So while today is the 2,400th blog entry, it is actually more like 1,041 original posts at Ranting and Raving II, added into an additional more than 1,300 posts on the original Ranting and Raving Blog, plus a number of entries that did not get a number ...

So, in fact, the 2,400 posts is probably correct, or off by a little bit, so we will just go with the 2,400 number on go with that.

Of course, I am not including in that number the original Ranting and Raving Blog posts that I put up each day with the original post. Some time next year, I hope to have every original blog post right here, so I can forever close down the original blog site, which was hacked in early 2015.

What a disaster that was, but now, for the past more than four years, we have been back to full strength here.

Now, back to the blog entries themselves ...

It has been fun writing the blog five days a week. It gives me something to think about each day, where I ask the proverbial question, "What am I going to write for my next entry?"

Sometimes the topic, and the words to describe it, just flow out like water coming out of a faucet.

Other times, it comes out in drips and drabs, and sometimes, it doesn't come out at all.

But I manage to write something each day to amuse you, make you think, enrage you, or make you laugh.

And after 10 years of doing it, I still get a mighty big kick out of it, so I see no reason to stop doing it, even though I joked during a past April Fool's Day that the blog was dead.

So, the Ranting and Raving Blog will live on, because I can always find something to write about, even if it is so benign that it makes you brain gurgle.

That is fine--you can't write a masterpiece each and every time out.

And thanks to you, my readers, for coming here each and every weekday, often times starting your busy day by reading the blog.

Again, people from all over the world read this thing--I get plenty of readers from Russia, the Ukraine, and South Korea, as well as from Portugal and the United Kingdom--and I post it each and every weekday on Facebook, so I get countless others from around the globe reading what I have to say.

I also get that from my work writing, which is in a publication that goes worldwide and also online so anyone can see it, so I am pretty much covered in that aspect of my writing, that people internationally are reading what I have to say, one way or the other.

So once again, thanks to my audience, and tomorrow, we will have Rant #2,401 (or thereabouts), and we will be marching on to Rant #2,500, a real big milestone, which I predict we should reach by the tail end of this year or into early 2020.

What a great trip it has all been, and I will speak to you again tomorrow.

Onward and upward!

Classic Rant #1,045 (September 19, 2013): Rechargeable Batteries

As I recharge my own batteries after yesterday's Rant, today I am going to talk about rechargeable batteries.

I have been using this type of battery for the past five years or so, or ever since I got my then new 2008 Kia Spectra.

Why would there be a link between the two?

I bought my car right before the electronics explosion in cars. Today, cars come with Internet, GPS, the works, but back in 2008, not every car came with such devices.

My Kia certainly didn't.

It did come with a hookup for an iPad or MP3 player.

Since the radio in the car is very retro--like circa 1990 or so--I listen to stuff in the car through this hookup, and I use a relatively old fashioned MP3 player to play various disks I have burned on my computer.

It is an OK setup, although I would much rather have a radio that played MP3 disks.

Anyway, to supply the power for the MP3 player, I use the Duracell rechargeable batteries, the ones shown in the photo. I figured that I would spend less money using them than using regular AA batteries.

And it supposedly is better for the environment, too.

These five years later, I am still using the same rechargeable batteries, or should I say, the same three rechargeable batteries.

The original pack, I think, came with at least eight of these batteries, but over the years, I have lost five of them.

One I know I lost the first time my family saw a baseball game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. I was using one of these batteries to power a camera I had back then, and one of the batteries fell on the floor and rolled somewhere. I could not find it, even though there were maybe 10,000 people at the game that night.

Others I have lost here and there, and one is actually lost in my car, stuck somewhere around my driver's car seat. I have looked and looked, but I cannot find the battery anywhere, but it is in my car.

Anyway, as to performance, the batteries do work.

They are not as good or as reliable as regular batteries, and since I use them every day, they do go out pretty quickly, quicker than regular batteries.

When they are done, you really have to charge them up for six to nine hours at a time for them to reach full power.

Again, these are batteries that are more than five years old, so maybe it takes longer time for them to be charged than new, current rechargeable batteries.

But they seem to work when you give them enough juice.

I have to say that I am satisfied with them, but since I only have three now, I do have to use regular batteries from time to time when they are charging.

Yes, it is a pain, and I have vowed that one day, I will get a radio that allows me to ditch these batteries.

But for now, it is the best arrangement I can think of for doing what I want to do in the car.

I wish I had my own inner set of rechargeable batteries, because right now, I feel a bit powerless myself.

Rant #2,399: Here Comes Summer

I know that I am putting the cart before the horse by proclaiming this today, but tomorrow is the first day of summer.

Read on, and you will find out why I am jumping the gun a bit.

The first day of summer wavers from year to year. Sometimes it is, actually, today, and in other years, it is tomorrow.

And tomorrow is also the longest day of the year, with sunlight visible in my part of the world past 8 p.m. or so.

However, if I remember correctly, the first day of summer last year was a rainy day in these parts, and is pretty much always a rainy day, so we don't get to experience the longest day of the year in its full bloom.

But whatever the case, yesterday I got an out-of-left-field gift from someone on the Internet, something that really came completely out of the blue and made me feel revitalized.

A Facebook friend, someone who knows the old neighborhood as well as anyone does, put up an old photo of mine that signifies what the summer meant to me all those years ago, but he put it up in a new-fashioned way.

Using a photo-editing program that he was literally learning on the fly, he was able to accentuate the colors of the photo and make it look like the picture was taken yesterday.

It really made the photo almost a new visual experience for me, and for anyone else viewing the photo for the first, or even the 10th time.

Just look at my and my teammates faces in the photo--as well as our coaches--and you will see the fun that playing together meant to us.

And as I look at the photo, I see so many of my childhood friends and acquaintances--Arnie, Ira, Alan, Mitch--that it really is a revelation to see the photo in this new way.

Thanks to K.D. for doing it, and thanks for A.E. for supplying the photo to begin with.

Yes, baseball signifies summer, as does vacations and the beach and the backyard swimming pool we have, and barbecues, too.

If the warmer weather isn't here quite yet, it is coming soon, and as I look at the weather report, this week has been a rainy one, but next week, we are supposed to be getting temperatures in the 80s, so that is good as we approach July 4.

I think this is going to be a great summer, and I look forward to the warm weather, cooling off in the pool, and my family's vacation, this year, a driving one where we are going to take in the east coast of the U.S. of A.

So this updated photo simply ushered in the summer in a really nice way.

But we have to get to summer first, and I will get there by taking the day off from the blog tomorrow. This is going to be a kind of tough weekend physically for us--we have to get things looked at, done and taken care of on Friday and Saturday--and I am sure the doctors will love the business we bring to them during the next two days.

So speak to you again on Monday, for post number 2,400--or is it?

More about that then.

Have a great weekend, and hopefully, we can all soak in the early days of summer the right way, with lots of sun and lots of fun!

Classic Rant #1,044 (September 18, 2013): You Can't Please Everyone

I am sure that I mentioned this some time back, but I am on the committee which has been tasked with creating a Reunion for the 50th anniversary of my beloved old neighborhood, Rochdale Village, South Jamaica, Queens, New York.

When I got into this, I really didn't think there would be too many problems. I would do my part, and everybody else would do their part, and everything would be hunky dory.

Little did I know ...

Forget about the stuff behind the scenes, which I am not going to get into here.

The stuff in front of the scenes has been enough to alert me to never get involved in such a project again.

I have learned that you really can't please everyone.

If it is not one thing, it's another.

We have had people complaining about the food--our caterer is Italian--with people wanting us to offer a less fattening menu, have dishes for people who are intolerant of one thing or another, etc.

We have had people question our attendee list, because they don't see certain people on there--and I don't mean friends, necessarily, but certain "types" of people, let's say.

We have had people think that even though the deadline for payment has passed, they can send in their payments at any time.

Heck, we had one woman who yesterday, clearly several days after the September 15 deadline, alerted us that she was sending in her payment from Alaska and that it would take at least 10 days to get to us in New York.

There have also been people who have questioned the validity of what we are doing, don't care for certain people, and have given us hell about it.

There have been so many other things thrown our way--and thrown my way, personally--that I really have to ask myself if it was even worth it for me to get into this thing in the first place.

This is supposed to be a happy, pleasant occasion, when people are going to see others that they have not seen in decades.

Yet, many still bear grudges that have lasted for eons.

One guy actually told me that he has held a grudge against me since 1965, and honestly, I barely know the guy!

But with all the nonsense, this thing is taking off like a rocket to the moon.

We have about 150 attendees all lined up, and even with all the nonsense, this thing appears to be the social event of the year for this group of people.

The committee--the four of us--have worked hard to put this thing together, and it appears as if our work has not been for naught.

But all the constant carping and complaining gets to you after awhile.

I, personally, have had my fill.

I know it is going to be a great occasion, but enough already.

I now know, for a fact, that you can't please everyone, or anybody, for that matter.

And I guess that that is a lesson that I will never forget.

Rant #2,398: Free Me

Happy Wednesday,

Today is hump day, and we have to get through today, the middle of the week, to get to the end of the week on Saturday.

But really, hump day signifies the middle of the work week, and we have to get over today to get to the end of Friday.

Yes, we all work for the weekend, unless we have to work on the weekend, which my wife does this coming Saturday.

Happily, she is off on Sunday, but having one day on and one day off does nothing to soothe the senses.

So, happy hump day and happy Juneteenth.

Ehh ... Juneteenth ... what the heck is that?

It is amazing to me that I just discovered this holiday, that today, June 19, is a very important day in the annals of this country, but I did, and I will bet that most of you have no idea that this holiday existed, either.

Simply put, Juneteenth, which is also known as Freedom Day or in its longer form, Juneteenth Independence Day, is an American holiday that commemorates the announcement on this date in 1865 that slavery had been abolished in the state of Texas, and more importantly, the emancipation of slaves throughout the former Confederate States of America.

Juneteenth is actually recognized as a state holiday, or at least a day of observance, in 45 of the 50 states of the union, but I don't think those states include New York, because I honestly never heard of this holiday until today.

According to Wikipedia, the day is observed in local celebrations, and traditions include public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, the singing of songs that were popular with the slaves, and the reading of writings by popular black authors.

The date is also celebrated with street fairs, family reunions, and cookouts.

Nope, I never heard of this holiday before discovering it just the other day and deciding that I would write about it when the day came.

Perhaps blacks in my neck of the woods know about this day more than I do, because Juneteenth, obviously, might have impacted their ancestors directly,

One of the reasons that the American Civil War was fought was because the north was pretty much against slavery and the south was not, but let's be very 2019 here, the reasons for the War Between the States had much more to do with other factors, many of them economic, than it had to do with freeing those bound by slavery. Slavery was certainly part of the equation, but while it is nice to say that President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, he did do that, but as a byproduct of the North winning this war.

Whatever the case, when Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Northern forces on April 9, mechanisms were put into place to join the two warring factions into the union it had previously had, and the slaves were emancipated as part of that deal. That kind of simplifies the whole thing, but within the context we are working with today, that is pretty much what happened.

In many places, slaves danced in the streets at the announcement of their newly won freedom, and this is how Juneteenth really began, as a celebration of this freedom, and a remembrance of the toil and blood spilled leading up to this magic moment.

Again, perhaps some of my readers of color know well more about this holiday than I do, but I also read that there is a movement to make Juneteenth a national celebration with a Congressional declaration.

So, happy June 19, happy Juneteenth, and have a good day. I hope you learned as much as I did about this day, and I will speak to you tomorrow.

Here comes summer!

Classic Rant #1,043 (September 17, 2013): Missed America

So what do you think of the new Miss America?

Me, I never understood the allure of this contest.

As a man--and as a self-avowed male chauvinist pig--I never understood why the prettiest girl never wins this contest.

And quite frankly, who cares about her brains?

But the latest Miss America has sparked plenty of controversy, and in the same breath, has put the pageant squarely in the news once again.

The latest Miss America is from New York, which should be news itself. Aren't most of the winners from the western part of the country? Yes, I did some research, and the last two (including the newest) Miss America are from New York, but isn't this some type of anomaly?

But the thing that has gotten a lot of people's goat is that the winner, 24-year-old Nina Davaluri, is Indian American.

She is not white, she is not black, she is not Asian, she is the first Indian American to have won this pageant.

A lot of people do not like this, and have made racist comments, saying that she is a terrorist.

Why they are equating her heritage with terrorism is beyond me, but I think that these people are scared people, thinking that minorities are taking over the country.

The woman was born here, by the way, debunking a lot of people who are saying that she is a foreigner taking away one of "our" pageants.

There is a lot of hate out there, but 30 years ago today, there was a lot of hate thrown at another Miss America winner.

Remember all the brouhaha over Vanessa Williams being crowned the first black Miss America? Today is the 30th anniversary of her coronation.

The same things that Davaluri is going through Williams went through, and Williams went through them a bit worse.

Racists said that Miss America could never be a black woman, while some blacks even said she wasn't "black enough" in her features to be considered one of them.

Oy vey!

Williams couldn't win any which way, but about a year into her reign, she was taken out for good by those nude photos of her that appeared in Penthouse magazine, photos that were taken of her a few years before the pageant.

She was "stripped" of her crown, and went on to have quite a nice singing and acting career, one of the few Miss Americas who had successful show business careers after her reign.

And let's not forget that years and years before this, Bess Myerson, the first Jewish Miss America, also went through hell because of who she was, and she, too, had a pretty successful career on television.

The term "Miss America" should mean just that, and if the winner is black, white, green, purple, Indian, Jewish, or just plain WASP, it really shouldn't matter.

And is this pageant really that important anyway?

I wonder if people also think that the competition was rigged, so that the Indian American girl won, just so the pageant would get the press it has not had in the past number of years.

I could go along that line much more, but the people who think that "white bread" women should be the only winners of this pageant are really out of line.

I never got this pageant, anyway, and after the latest episode, I still don't.

Rant 2,397: Baby You Can Drive My Car

New York, the Empire State, has proven once again what a real lemon it is by passing the so-called "Green Light Law, " which gives illegal aliens the right to hold a valid state driver's license.

The Democrat-backed bill barely passed in the state senate by a 33-29 margin, and those legislators representing certain areas greatly impacted by the flow of these people into their environs--such as Long Island, where MS-13 members, almost all of them here illegally, have disrupted normal life in the usual placid environs--voted against the measure, but to no avail.

Proponents of this legislation state that the ability for illegal aliens--who they so ceremoniously call "undocumented immigrants" so it lessens the blow, in verbiage, of who they really are--to get a valid driver's license will make the roads safer, will boost the economy, and will allow illegals a clearer path to citizenship.

Baloney. And put the baloney on rye, with mustard and a pickle.

All that this legislation has done is to give illegal aliens more rights than they deserve, and it goes against the very meaning of what the word citizen means.

More importantly, it opens up a can of worms that will never be closed, as New York becomes even more of a "sanctuary state" than it already is.

And that is treasonous, I do believe.

New York State has now opened the door for further fraud perpetrated by people who break the law and do not belong here, and for citizens, it is an abridgment of our rights as Americans for the state to be doing this.

First of all, illegal immigrants who have been here for days, weeks, years and decades, are breaking the law by even living here. They never bothered to go through the process of citizenship, so really, why are they here in the first place?

And by giving them driver's licenses, you are legalizing their behavior, which makes things that much worse, including for those aliens who have gone through the process and have become full-fledged citizens of our country.

What do you say to them?

Well, pretty much you spit in their face.

Look, illegals who refuse to become citizens generally do plenty to cement themselves in this country.

They steal names, Social Security numbers, and other valuable information so they are not found out, and try to wiggle out of having a stolen ID if yours has been stolen by these ingrates.

Proponents of the law state that these people will now have to do everything that citizens who own driver's licenses do, including having insurance.

Do you really think that people who have skirted the law by even being here are going to possess valid insurance? You just know that there will be plenty of fraud related to that, too.

Polls, for whatever they are worth, state that more than 50 percent of New York citizens are against illegals having driver's licenses, and this is in an ultra-liberal, treasonous state that welcomes illegals as if they were native sons and daughters.

If even the citizenry of an ultra-liberal state like New York is wary of such a law, why do our legislators embrace such legislation, against their constituents' desires?

Well, as I have said time and time again, you get what you pay for, and by constantly voting in Democrat after Democrat--whose backing of illegal aliens in every way of life is so obviously a ploy to get votes, future and otherwise--this is what you are going to get.

Could New Yorkers expect anything else, in particular with Governor Andrew Cuomo at the helm?

Funny, he even had reservations about the legislation, but for all the wrong reasons.

He said that by giving illegals (no, he doesn't use that term) the right to have driver's licenses, you would not only be giving them the right to drive legally in New York, but you would be creating a database of illegals that could be used by the federal government to launch mass deportations.

Cuomo--one of the all-time two-faced ego-driven political phoneys, just like his father was--said that the only way he would sign such a bill is if the information generated by these driver's licenses could be kept away from the federal government, a further treasonous act.

New York is a leader in illegal immigrant rights. The governor has proposed giving these people free college educations, and he has vowed never to cooperate with the federal government in the immigration process.

By allowing illegals to hold driver's licenses, New York State has crossed the line, gone through the stop sign ... you can use any metaphor you want, but the main thing that the state has done is slap its citizenry right in the face, and told those who have legally gone through the process that they have done so for absolutely no reason.

My grandparents--three of the four--came here 100 years ago to make a better life for themselves and for their families. if this latest nonsense isn't a slap in the face to their legacy, I don't know what is.

One can only conjecture what is next for the state to give illegals, perhaps the right to vote, the right to further use our resources in whatever devilish ways they want, because New York State has now become a place where illegals will gravitate to, since they actually have numerous rights here.

This is opening a Pandora's Box of problems that we can't even imagine yet, but my fellow New Yorkers, you deserve what you get because you constantly vote in legislators who do not care about the actual citizens of this state or country.

The only way to stop this is to vote these cretins out of office when their terms are due.

It is as simple as that.

We need reasonable legislators in New York State and in this country, those who will put the needs and desires of actual citizens above those who just stroll in here and want everything given to them on a silver platter.

Enough is enough.

Classic Rant #1,042 (September 16, 2013): I Don't Like Mondays

Looking back at Yom Kippur this year, I can say it all very briefly:

I fasted, I cleaned up my daughter's old room, and I broke the fast like there was no tomorrow.

Moving on ...

I could have slept today, I really could have.

It was a cool night, and I was very comfortable in my bed.

The problem is that I have work, my wife and son also have to get up to go to work and school, respectively, and the day must move on.

I don't like Mondays.

After two days where I can sleep late, Monday is the day that sets the tone for the rest of the week, where I have to get up early.

On Monday, I have Friday on my mind, and I am working for the weekend.

The brings up two old songs, the first by the Easybeats, the second by Loverboy, and I could go on and on with similar songs about the week, including "Monday, Monday" by the Mamas and the Papas.

But there was another tune, this one not a very big hit in the U.S. but huge overseas, that really spelled out, to the extreme, the stigma that Monday, the first day of the work week, has for many people.

Remember the Boomtown Rats' "I Don't Like Mondays"?

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if you didn't if you live in the U.S., because the song barely got into the Hot 100 here, making #73 during early 1980.

Elsewhere, the tune was a #1 record, including in England, one of a slew of hits the Irish band--led by Bob Geldof, later of "Live Aid" fame--had there during that period of time.

The song was very American, though, or at least the subject was.

The song was about a San Diego, California, teenager, Brenda Spencer, who one Monday in 1979 decided that she would get out a gun and start shooting people for no apparent reason.

When she was asked why she would do such a heinous thing--she ended up killing two innocent people--she replied, "I don't like Mondays."

Well, most people don't like Mondays, either, but we would never go to that extreme, would we?

Monday is supposedly the day that the most work gets done, as opposed to Friday, when the least work gets done.

I guess people get hyped by going back to work, but by Friday, they are all tapped out.

So have a good Monday. Pace yourself as you get closer to Friday.

And don't do anything rash, like the Spencer girl, who I haven't heard about in years.

I guess she is spending her days in jail, where I would assume the days of the week kind of blend into each other.

Happy Monday!

Rant 2,396: Purple Haze

I overslept today, which was understandable based on the circumstances of this past weekend.

To celebrate Father's Day, we had a barbecue at my house, and a houseful of people to feed.

And I did just that, with the food flowing like water out of a park fountain.

Food, food and more food, and then some more.

And the weather held up, which made the day even better.

Weather forecasters had warned us that this Father's Day would be a wet one, but we got lots of rain early in the morning and then nothing until the early evening, so there was plenty of time to have a great time outdoors.

And it went so well, and I am so pooped right now, that I am going to proclaim that yesterday's barbecue is my final large barbecue. I am getting older, and I simply cannot do it anymore.

It was very difficult on not only myself, but my wife and my mother, and while we will continue to have smaller barbecues--like the one I plan to have on July 4--I think the days of the larger barbecues are over.

Starting with my father, my family has always had large barbecues dating back to the early 1970s, but after nearly 50 years of doing these things, I think the time has come for me to hang up my utensils, and just have smaller ones, intimate ones for the immediate family only.

This might be famous last words, so I won't rule out such bigger events altogether, but I think that this one is it.

Heck, it was such a good barbecue at least I can say that I went out with a bang!

And yes, today I am in something of a "purple haze" because of it.

But how does "purple haze" figure into all of this to begin with?

I have been a fan of Jimi Hendrix since as far back as I can remember, even before my family started doing barbecues.

I have to tell you, to me, growing up when I did, I didn't even have to hear his music--this guy was so out there, so odd looking, so different than what I was used to seeing as a kid, that I was drawn to his look before I was drawn to his music.

And then, when I heard his music, in particular on his first album, "Are You Experienced?," I was hooked for good.

He put out other albums during his short lifetime, but that LP stands head and above anything else he released, in my humble opinion.

And when he died, along with the death of Janis Joplin, I remember that in my school, there was a big mural of the two of them painted on the wall, honoring them for what they were and, I guess, for what they could have been.

So how does this fit into Father's Day?

Let the "wind cry Mary" ...

My wife is a smart lady, and she always gets me nice gifts on the occasions that demand such things.

Yesterday, to honor Father's Day, she got me a nice card, a nice eBay card, and a Jimi Hendrix T-shirt, which I wore yesterday as I was cooking away.

(And my kids got me nice gifts too.)

I got some comments on the T-shirt--it is really nice, a color caricature of Hendrix on a black background--and it got me to talking about Hendrix and his legacy with some of our guests.

So, yes, in spirit, I guess that Jimi Hendrix was with us yesterday while I was cooking away.

Where is the shirt now?

Well, because of the "fire" and the sweat and toil that I practiced yesterday, it is in the washing machine, ready to be cleaned and made new again.

If I took it out, I think it would smell so much that it would put me into a 'manic depression."

So you are just going to have to rely on my recollections about the shirt to go with right now.

And I hope everybody had as good a Father's Day that I did, but now, it is time to get back to the grind of the workweek.

But thanks to my wife, thanks to my guests, thanks to Mother Nature--the real "foxey lady" of this whole deal--and thanks to Jimi for making everything just right yesterday.

Classic Rant #1,041 (September 13, 2013): Yom Kippur

Tonight, at sundown, begins the most solemn day on the Jewish calendar.

When the sun goes down, Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, begins, and it also begins a period of fasting, to show Jews' dedication to the Jewish way of life.

You are not supposed to wash, drive your car, shave, or do much of anything that day, but you are supposed to "doven,"or pray, in your synagogue.

Believe me, it is much harder to fast when you are in synagogue, and all the getting up and down makes it that much worse.

The fasting, and the praying, is to show God that you are worthy for another year, and you are showing your devotion to God by your participation.

As I said during Rosh Hashanah, my family does not currently belong to a synagogue, but yes, I do fast, and I honor the holiday and God my own special way.

I am the only one in my family who can actually get through the fast, so I continue to do it, although I really shouldn't do it, because I do take pills for my cholesterol on a daily basis.

But I do get through it the best I can, and yes, I have to say that I do feel better after the fast is broken, as not eating kind of clears my body, and soul, of a lot of stuff I don't really need.

And it is only until sundown on Saturday, when the holiday ends, so it really isn't that bad.

This year, with the beginning of the holiday on Friday and the bulk of the holiday on the Sabbath on Satruday, it really is the "super holiday," if you will. When this happens, extra passages are added into the ceremony, and I do remember days in synagogue where I would hear women crying because they could not eat. Having the holiday on Saturday will make the fast more difficult for some.

Anyway, we traditionally break the fast at my sister's home, and she usually has all sorts of goodies to fill my stomach after 24 hours of having nothing in it.

To all my Jewish friends, have a good holiday and an easy fast.