Rant #2,350: Come To the Sunshine

Is there nothing more boring than being stuck in traffic while in your car, in particular when you are driving home from a very long day at work?

Endless cars, nothing in the terms of scenery, nothing really to entice you to get excited about.

Sure, you have the radio on, but even if you have satellite radio, you constantly hear the same songs--even on the Sixties channel, where I have probably heard the Lemon Pipers' "Green Tambourine" about 9,764,479,007,565 times already (or some number near to that).

So what is a poor boy--or girl--to do when sitting in endless lanes of traffic?

Be creative. Think outside the box. Don't listen to any preprogrammed stuff. Listen to what you want to listen to. Learn something.

That has always been my credo, stretching back to the cassette days.

I used to make myself what were called "mix tapes," where I would put my favorite music on the tape, pop it in when the situation arose (every weekday), and even if the traffic was fierce, at least the music I was listening to was the music I wanted to listen to.

That stretched through the CD era, where I would burn CDs all the time and have plenty of great stuff to listen to.

Now, in the download and streaming era, I still encompass myself with what I want to listen to when stuck in traffic, digitizing my record collection and listening to that in the car.

I have also downloaded some podcasts that I am fond of. One that I liked to listen to was one that I told you about a while back, in Rant #2,178 (July 11, 2018), the "Echo Valley" podcast produced by someone by the name of Bruce Ivey.

That podcast was a rundown of the greatest bubblegum songs of all time, taking in everything from ABBA to the Zombies. It is a fun place to visit, and I have since caught up on all the 134 episodes of this podcast, and hopefully, there will be more to come.

You can investigate that podcast at http://echovalleymusic.blogspot.com/2011/06/echo-valley-episode-1.html.

Well, when I finally finished the run of that podcast, I needed something else to turn to, something else to turn my ears to when I was stuck in traffic.

I had heard of the "Come to the Sunshine" podcast some time back, and I believe I even listened to one or two of these shows in the past, but now, I really needed something to fill in this crucial time of my workday, and "Come to the Sunshine" it was.

The show--named after the Van Dyke Parks tune that was covered by Harpers Bizarre, and became a top 40 hit for them in 1967--is the brainchild of Andrew Sandoval, the producer/writer/jack of all trades who has resurrected the Monkees' vast music catalog on the Rhino label.

Sandoval is a 1960s music geek, someone who knows a lot about even the most obscure records of the period, and he shows off that vast knowledge on the show.

And if anyone has a record collection that exceeds mine, he is the guy. He hunts for records all over the world, and he plays what he finds on the show.

The two hour program sometimes has a theme, as with the Hollies show that I just finished listening to while sitting in traffic last week.

Sandoval played a few of the band's better known songs, but he focused on rarities and different mixes of other songs, and while I didn't know these songs, it was like I was in a Hollies education class and was learning more about the British band than I ever knew existed.

He has been doing these podcasts for more than a decade. The show was at first a weekly show, but now he does it when he does it. He just put up Episode #149, which appears to be focusing on one of those bands that I really liked but which only broke through briefly on the national scene way back when, the New Colony Six.

As I am only on the third podcast of the show--almost all of them, but not all the shows, are up at https://cometothesunshine.podomatic.com--it will probably take me many, many months to get through the entire collection, as these are two-hour shows and one can only listen to so many of these in the car each week.

So I found what I wanted, a show that will keep my ears peeled for more while I keep my eyes on the road.

I highly recommend this podcast, and the Echo Valley podcast, as fun things to listen to while you are in the drudgery of traffic.

And yes, you will hear Traffic on these shows too, so there really is something for any 1960s music aficionado to enjoy with these shows.

Give them a listen, you won't be disappointed.

Classic Rant #997 (July 5, 2013): The Day After

How was your July 4?

I did exactly what I said my family and I were going to do, which was next to nothing.

My wife worked, my son and I were at home, and I watched baseball, baseball and more baseball.

In the middle of everything, not only was I having some vision problems (allergies getting the best of me), but we had a power failure that hit exactly half the house, and that was it.

Once everything was restored--and my vision improved--everything was hunky dory. We had our barbecue, and now it is back to work day.

And it is July 5.

We have some signature holidays during the year, whether you are talking about New Year's Day on January 1, Christmas Day on December 25, and yes, Independence Day on July 4.

But what about the days after those holidays?

Do January 2, December 26 and July 5 suffer in comparison? I mean, the world does not stop on these days, does it?

They probably do. You can't compete with a day that is momentous, a day where so many people have off. Certainly, July 5 cannot possibly be as important as July 4 is.

And July 4 is pretty much a scam, anyway.

The Constitution, if I remember my history, was actually signed on July 2.

July 4 was the day it was "processed," for lack of a better word.

But July 2 is actually more important to our country's history than July 4 is, but we celebrate July 4 over July 2 because by July 4, our country was finally set in motion in 1776.

The day after July 4 is a momentous day for some.

The bikini was introduced to the world on that day in 1946, and Elvis Presley's first commercial recording session took place on that day. He recorded "That's All Right (Mama)."

So July 5 is important if you like rock and roll and if you like the female form.

But what about the days after Christmas Day and New Year's Day?

Do they suffer in comparison?

Looking at January 2, probably.

It is the day people kind of get back to doing their normal routines, and it is the day that pretty much signifies the end of the holiday season.

December 26 is actually a holiday in itself.

Although not that well known here, it is Boxing Day in England, where, supposedly, Christmas gifts that are not wanted or needed are "boxed up" and given to the needy.

In more recent years, December 26 is also the first day of Kwanzaa, so it does have real significance to some people.

In my family, December 26 is a stupendous day.

My sister was born on that day in 1959, and as my father has often said, her birth gave him a tax write-off for the entire year.

So yes, the days after big holidays are very, very significant, depending on a lot of things.

So have a very happy July 5, even if you have to go to back to work like I do.

And if your birthday is on July 5, just think, all the hubbub associated with July 4 is over, and you can have your day to yourself.

Speak to you again on Monday ... July 8.

Rant #2,349: Hit Me With Your Best Shot

As I said on Friday, this past weekend was the biggest weekend of the year for professional wrestling, as the WWE had its Wrestlemania event on Sunday, which was proceeded by its NXT Takeover event on Friday and its Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday.

You would think that today I would be talking about some of the matches that took place at either Wrestlemania or NXT, but no, I am not going to do that. You can look up the results if you are interested.

What I am going to talk about is a bizarre occurrence that happened at the WWE Hall of Fame event, something that happened that proved once again that there is nothing like live TV to get the blood flowing.

And what made it even more interesting is that in a "sport" where much of the results are pre-planned, this was a situation that happened at Brooklyn's Barclays Center in just the opposite way; nobody knew it was going to happen, except, perhaps, the perpetrator.

One act after another was being inducted into the Hall of Fame, an accolade that has yet to have an actual brick and mortar home, but an honor nonetheless.

One of the acts that was being inducted this year was the Hart Foundation, a duo of Canadian wrestlers that dominated the sport in the 1990s.

Bret "The Hitman" Hart, came up to the podium--which was constructed to look like a wrestling ring--with his real-life niece, current WWE wrestler Natalya Hart, representing her late father, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, who died about a year ago.

They were making their induction speech, when from the right side of the podium--the left side to the millions of viewers who were watching this worldwide--somebody somehow jumped security and ran onto the podium and attacked Hart.

The screen went dark for a moment, but my son and I were watching, we saw this guy jump onto the stage, and I told my son that something "real" had occurred.

The screen returned, and a whole group of wrestlers were in the corner of the pseudo-ring, had surrounded the person, and reports are that one wrestler--Dash Wilder--actually socked him into submission.

Anyway, he was led away and the induction ceremony continued, unimpeded by this individual's stupidity. At the top of the screen, you could see someone being led away by New York City police to the cheers of the crowd.

After some tense moments, the show went on, and the induction ceremony continued.

The guy who jumped security guards and got to the ring was an amateur MMA fighter from Nebraska who was taken to the 78th Precinct in Brooklyn--right around the corner from the Barclays Center--and charged with two counts of assault and trespassing.

Anyway, although the WWE telecast blocked out a few seconds of the incident, attendees with their cell phones captured the whole thing, and it is available all over the Internet to view.

Anyway, I just found it interesting that in a "sport" where just about everything is planned, here was an incident where something completely unplanned happened.

Happily, Hart and his niece--who was herself knocked to the ground in the incident--came up relatively unscathed.

It was just one of those things that happen, and I thought it was just so interesting that people were able to capture the entire incident on phone video.

I won't say that it was the highlight of the night, but in show business tradition--I mean, this isn't called "sports entertainment" for nothing--the show went on.

Let's hope that this guy gets the book thrown at him, and that something like this never happens again.

Classic Rant #996 (July 3, 2013): July 4th Fireworks

What are you doing on July 4?

Well, what I can say is that I am doing next to nothing, which I think is pretty good, at least for me.

I don't have to go to work, so at least I can get off that hamster track for one day.

Thus, if I don't have to go to work, I can pass on two things that I abhor: wearing a tie and shaving, at least for one day.

I can sit at home and do little or nothing, which is exactly what I plan on doing.

My wife has to work. She works for a Canadian-based bank (I will leave it up to you to figure out which one), and they work on July 4.

They are consistent. They also worked on Canada Day, so they treat these types of holidays pretty even;y.

Yes, they are kind of anti-holiday all around.

Anyway, I will probably watch some baseball on TV.

Baseball and July 4 go together like peanut butter does to bread.

You thought I was going to say "and jelly," but I hate jelly.

Anyway, when my wife returns home, we will have a barbecue.

Barbecues and July 4 go together like ... well, peanut butter to bread.

We always have a barbecue on July 4, because it is the traditional thing to do.

My wife, who doesn't eat much red meat but is not a vegetarian, eats her one beef hamburger that day.

Hebrew National, of course.(It's not what you see in the photo accompanying this Rant, but I did my best.)

I like Nathan's hot dogs, but Hebrew National is my choice for the best commercial hot dog on the market today.

It simply tastes better than other hot dogs.

And it is kosher, supposedly, so it is held to a higher manufacturing standard.

Later that night, we will hear fireworks all around us, and we might watch fireworks on TV.

I am not as excited by fireworks as some people are.

To me, it is little more than a lot of noise.

And then, that will be July 4 for me.

And what is really "wonderful" this year is that it falls on a Thursday, and no, I don't have Friday off, so me and a million other people will be going back to work on Friday ...

As if July 4 never, ever happened.

I guess you really can't escape reality.

Speak to you again on Friday.

Rant #2,348: Big Shot

This weekend is one that a lot of people around the world have been waiting for, as Wrestlemania takes the stage in New Jersey's MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

It is the culmination of a busy weekend of activities, starting on Friday night, when NXT: Takeover hits Brooklyn's Barclays Center.

Say what you want about professional wrestling, but it is a true global phenomenon, and it will be covered for what it is--a combination of the World Series, Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, and The Finals with a lot of show biz mixed in--by the international press.

And I am not just talking about the wrestling press, I am talking about supposedly more legitimate periodicals like Forbes, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

Yes, pro wrestling, namely the WWE, has become that big, and it has become that big in spite of itself.

Look, we all know that the outcomes of the matches have all been predetermined, the wrestlers telegraph their moves to each other, and the only thing about the matches that isn't planned are the injuries that do occur even with careful planning.

But people love it. It was a huge niche "sport" for most of the 20th century, then took off in the 1980s and 1990s when Vince McMahon--once simply the son of the owner of what was then called WWWF, and then its main announcer when it was called WWF, and then its owner after he bought the company from his father and WWF morphed to WWE--decided to take his wrestling brand not only regionally and then nationwide, but eventually, internationally.

And people bought into it hook, line and sinker.

This "soap opera for boys" morphed into something more than what males enjoyed as they grew up. And when I say people, I mean the female persuasion, too, who hooked onto the sport as more of their own gender became big stars.

There has always been a huge gender gap with male and female wrestlers, and McMahon saw that, and began using female wrestlers--more trainers and models who looked good in skimpy outfits and looked good period--more prominently in his shows.

Females have become such an integral part of the wrestling landscape that the main event of Wrestlemania this year is between three women wrestlers, Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair.

And what made pro wrestling the phenomenon that it is is what makes anything successful, and that is money.

Wrestlemania has become such a big show that cities actually battle it out like they do when they attempt to host the Super Bowl.

Lots of greenbacks put in means lots of greenbacks coming out, and hosting Wrestlemania can bring the host city more than $100 million in revenue, and with the event being at MetLife again this year, that figure is expected to jump this time around.

People come in from all over the world for this, they need hotel rooms, they spend money, and host cities just love this, of course.

Wrestlemania is part sporting event, part entertainment event, and part, well, something that really cannot be categorized.

It is an event beyond any other event, with a lot of spectacle, a lot of nonsense, and a lot of fun all rolled into one.

Those who cannot be there live can view it on the ultra-successful WWE Network on whatever device they use. Subscriptions are just $9.99 a month, and let me tell you, with my son and I watching wrestling every week, it is money well spent.

And again, give credit to Vince McMahon for having the vision of making the WWE a global phenomenon. He had the vision, the gumption and the courage to enter somewhat unknown territory by doing this, and he succeeded even beyond what must have been his own wildest dreams.

I have been watching pro wrestling since probably around 1965 or so, when Bruno Sammartino was the most popular wrestler in the old WWWF.

He was the one wrestler that the general population knew, as he was the face of the sport for probably around 20 years.

Then came Hulk Hogan, and that is when wrestling starting to go mainstream and become the worldwide sensation that it is.

Then we had The Rock, John Cena ...

But now, we have wrestlers like Kofi Kingston, Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, A.J. Styles and the ladies I mentioned earlier that have taken over the reigns of the sport and made it there own.

The storylines haven't changed much from 50 years ago, but the characters have, and the spotlight has widened on pro wrestling so that it is as mainstream as Major League Baseball is.

And like probably many millions of others, my son and I will be watching this weekend, waiting to see who emerges as the champion, the next big thing, and maybe the newest face of the WWE.

It should be a lot of fun.

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

Classic Rant #995 (July 2, 2013): Struck Out

This is shaping up to be a very long summer for New York Yankees fans.

The team, which has been a powerhouse since the mid 1990s and also has a fabled past that no other team can even approach, has fallen on very hard times this year.

The team has suffered numerous injuries to key players, and after a good start, they have pretty much caved in.

Nothing is working, and few of the injured players are even close to game ready, so the team has had to go with second-, third- and fourth-line players, and it hasn't worked.

However, yesterday, something happened that was one for the record books, or at least the Yankees record books.

Andy Pettitte struck out Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau in the bottom of the third inning for his 1,958th strikeout for the team, passing Whitey Ford for first in team history.

Pettitte needed two strikeouts in the game to gain the lead, and the 41 year old lefthander stuck out Clete Thomas in the second inning to tie the record, which has lasted for about 47 years.

Ford retired in 1967, and is a regular at Yankees' Oldtimers Day events. He actually held the team record since 1963, expanding upon it in his last four years in pinstripes.

Pettitte is pretty much on his last legs as a Yankees pitcher. He has spent his entire career with the organization, save a few years when he defected to the Houston Astros.

Like Ford, he is a lefty, and also like Ford, he is one of the best pitchers of his generation.

Pettitte has 213 wins for the Yankees during his career, while Ford had 236, so that record that Ford owns won't be broken anytime soon.

But Pettitte's record won't either.

Pettitte does have more than 2,000 total strikeouts in his career, but it will be interesting to see if he can surpass that total with the Yankees.

The Yankees are old, broken down and injured, and Pettitte has been off and on the disabled list since coming back to the Yankees last year.

It is highly doubtful that he will come back next year, or that the Yankees will want him back as a 40-year-old-plus pitcher with little gas left.

But gaining this record is another feather in the cap for the lefty, who also holds the record for most postseason wins at 19.

I mean, the strikeout record hasn't gotten the play the Derek Jeter received when he went five for five in gaining his 3,000th hit, the first player to do it as a Yankee.

And Nolan Ryan doesn't have anything to worry about with Pettitte.

But it still is a nice record to have, a rare bright spot in an otherwise dismal season.

Can Pettitte be the first Yankee to record 2,000 strikeouts as a Bronx Bomber?

He will at least come close, so it gives him an incentive to go for, and for Yankee fans to watch.

Rant #2,347: Another Day

Today, Thursday April 4, appears to be just another day on the calendar, but I will bet that your local TV weatherman will tell you that it really isn't.

TV weatherman are usually cheerful, trying to put a smile on the news as they outline the coming weather, and at least with the TV weatherman that I watch, they are always bringing up strange holidays and celebrations for a particular day to give us a chuckle, particularly early in the morning.

Well, today I am going to be your TV weatherman, and I am going to tell you that the weather is going to be fine as we celebrate several odd holidays that happen to fall on April 4.

They include the following, taken from a site called "Humor At Work: For Less Stress and More Success" (https://mikekerr.com/wacky-fun-offbeat-silly-unusual-theme-days-and-holidays-for-april/)

Fun at Work Day: I am glad that some people can have fun at work, but I certainly can't. In fact, I can't find anything that is fun at my work, other than listening to the radio as I drive to work.

Does anybody really have fun at work? I guess if you can find any fun at your job, you are a really special person in a really special situation.

Me? I'm worrying that the place is going to go out of business any day now (April was our latest expiration date), so no, I can't celebrate Fun at Work Day.

Burrito Day: I like Mexican food, and I like burritos, or at least what I know of burritos from Taco Bell and other restaurants that have them on their menus. I also know that burritos from these places are more "American-style" burritos than they are Mexican, as they contain more meat than real burritos, which contain more vegetables.

That being said, I like American burritos, so I guess I could run with this day. But I am certainly not having burritos to eat today. I have a turkey roll sandwich for lunch and will probably have a burger tonight.

I guess the (burp!) burritos will have to wait.

World Rat Day: Yes, we do find reasons to celebrate everything in the world, don't we? We even celebrate rats, and I am going to take it that we are talking about the rodents that we all know and love here, and not people who do things to make them "rats," if you get what I am talking about.

A rat is not a mouse, and rats to you if you believe that they are one and the same. And if you have seen New York rats, some appear to be as big as small cats, and if you see them, you know that you are not in the right place, because they fester in uncleanliness and garbage.

So why would anyone want to celebrate their existence? I have no idea.

Vitamin C Day: Yes, we all need Vitamin C, and I guess today is the day that we remind ourselves that we should include this essential vitamin in our diets.

An easy way to get some vitamin C is to drink orange juice on a daily basis. Me, I lost my taste for the beverage years ago. As a kid, my mother made sure we had our orange juice each and every day for breakfast, but I don't know what it is, I just lost my taste for it.

I might have orange juice three or four times a year now, not on a daily bais, but at least today, I am having something orange: orange soda, because we ran out of Coke. Its Vitamin C content is questionable, but I just think of it as orange juice with fizz.

Mine Awareness Day: Well, I would prefer that this would actually be Goldmine Awareness Day, but yes, this day actually does exist, and I think it is really geared to recognizing that people use mines to blow up and maim people during war time.

It is not a really funny subject, and I think that this day draws attention to the use of these devices around the world.

When we see our service members come home, often without limbs that were blown off by land mines, we know that their threat is real, and horrific loss of limb and life is real, too.

So there you have it. I bet you didn't know that April 4 was such an important day, but I guess it is.

Now, how about April 5?