songbird's crazy world

  #skywatchfriday

 Facebook has this wonderful feature called “Memories”.  It’s a record of everything you posted, organized by month and day.  If you access “Memories” today, for example, you’ll see what you posted on July 28, 2021, what you posted on July 28, 2016, etc.  You can access “Memories “ from your menu. But if you post to Facebook frequently, your “Memories “ are likely to show up in your news feed. I see my “Memories” in my news feed every day. Most people have several records of their memories.  I have this blog, for example, as well as Photobucket and Google Photos.    If I want to know what I was doing in the summer of 2015, I can look at blog entries or search my photo albums. But notice how I phrased that.  I have to actively search through my records.  With Facebook, someone else has curated my posts.  The memories are there for my perusal.   And the way they’re organized…I’m starting to see patterns.  Ball games, concerts, vacations.  Whines about my commute on the railroad (thankful

 The Mets took two games from the Yankees at Citi Field in the first half of this year’s Subway Series. The first place  Mets beat the first place  Yankees in the Subway Series. Part 2 of 5he Subway Series takes place in the Bronx August 22 and 23. Shades of 2000, when NYC was the baseball capital of 5he world …

 And today we are focused on vacation songs Let’s start with Connie Francis    Hit the road with Lindsay Buckingham    Let’s have some fun with Wang Chung    Alan Jackson has the summertime blues    You have to have some Jimmy Buffett in the mix    Mungo Jerry salutes summer activities And, of course, the Go-Go’s  

 Last night the Toronto Blue Jays annihilated the Boston Red Sox, final score 28-5.

  This is a map of Long Island.  Lots of people compare the shape of the island to a fish, with its head nestled against NYC and its tail in the Atlantic.   If you look at the East End of the island, you see that the “tail” branches out, there are distinct “forks”.   The South Fork contains all the glamour and glitz of the Hamptons and Montauk. But the North Fork … well, the North Fork has always been more …agricultural.  Traditionally that meant farms and farm stands (I used to take my children apple picking  in Cutchogue or Baiting Hollow) but more recently has included vineyards.  Yes, the North Fork of Long Island is wine country.  And most of the vineyards have wine tasting rooms, So a group of us decided to spend a day on the North Fork. We went to two very different wineries and had two unique experiences. We started our day at  Sparkling Pointe , in Southold.  As the name suggests, this place specializes in sparkling wines.  We were ushered through the indoor tasting room to a

 OMG have you heard the news?  The Boss is going on tour in the spring, and he’s doing at least four shows in the NYC area! But then, what do you expect from a Jersey boy? Of course we hope to get tickets. But in the meantime, let’s play some of his music.               

 On the 41st anniversary of Harry’s death, please read what I wrote  last year .  And then please make a donation to  Long Island Cares . Or your local food bank.

 The July super moon rises.   #skywatchfriday

 As a longtime fan of Broadway musicals, I would be remiss if I did not talk about Funny Girl . The Broadway show, a semi-biographical adaptation of the life of comedienne Fanny Brice, was produced in 1964, and became a starring vehicle for Barbra Streisand.  Barbra won an Oscar when she reprised the role in the 1968 movie. It was never revived on Broadway, because who could willingly take on such an iconic role so closely identified with the great Barbra Streisand? Enter Beanie Feldstein.  Best known as a film actress, she did appear on the Broadway stage in a supporting role in the revival of Hello, Dolly!    I wasn’t really familiar with her work.  It was announced last year that Beanie would star in a revival of Funny Girl , and immediately those of us her in the NYC were inundated with commercials in which Beanie recited the iconic line, “Hello, Gorgeous.” Of course Drew and I wanted to see the show.  We bought tickets before the show even began previews.   The show opened in A

 So reality is setting in.  My children, who not that very long ago were packing their bags and heading to college, are now thirty-something’s with lives of their own.  I feel old. It’s hard to keep up with their comings and goings.  Once upon a time I ran “mom’s taxi”, but now … Although Jen does occasionally ask for a ride to/from the airport, so I guess I’m now “mom’s Uber”. I had a weird conversation with Jen the last time I drove her to the airport, about two weeks ago.  We were talking about Redford, the family cat.  You remember Redford.    Redford adopted my family in 2011.  At the time he was a full-grown tomcat, an obviously abandoned pet.  He somehow found his way to our yard and endeared himself to our family.  Once you feed them, they never leave. Well, as I said, Redford came to us as an adult cat, so we really don’t know how old he is.  The vet estimated he was between 2 and 4 years old when he joined our family.  That would make him between 13 and 15 now. Jen prefers to

 Drew and I no longer have to take our shoes off while going through airport security,  it’s a wonderful thing,

 My younger daughter — my baby — turned 30 last Friday (happy birthday Becca!). In her honor I’ve asked you all to post a playlist of songs from the year you turned 30. For me, that would be 1990.  Not a coincidence that 1990 is the year my older daughter Jen was born. Let’s start with some Bon Jovi. Roxette     Madonna    Alannah Myles    Rod Stewart     And we finish with Billy Joel

Did you know I am an unwell narcissist?  Apparently I am, because a neuropsychologist I encountered on Facebook has diagnosed me as such, and she couldn’t possibly be wrong, could she?  🤣🤣🤣🤣 I am actually more amused than upset about what happened.  Sitting here rolling my eyes. 🙄🙄🙄 I am an administrator/moderator for several Facebook groups.  It means I make sure the rules are followed and I keep the peace if there are conflicts between members.  It’s purely voluntary.  The only thing I get out of being an administrator is making sure my groups don’t get shut down by Facebook.  I like my groups, I want to keep them around. But it does mean I have to deal with the crazy every now and then. So you know I love history.  I’m on the mailing list for history.com.  Every day I get an email listing 8-10 events that happened on that day in history.  I read through the list, and I usually choose one or two items to share with the group. On Sunday my choice met with the disapproval of one

 First, let’s all wish my daughter Becca a happy birthday.  My daughter … my younger  daughter … is 30 years old.  She’s spending the weekend in Montauk, enjoying sun, surf and sand.   All of Long Island is technically a beach community, you’re never more than a 20 minute drive to the beach (Jen and her  friends head over to the beach after work several times a week), but Montauk is a real resort town.  It’s good to get away, isn’t it? We’re planning a birthday dinner at an Italian restaurant when she comes home. Drew and I are having a quiet weekend.  Other than a movie (we’re seeing Thor ) we don’t have any real plans.   Though I am looking forward to something we will watch on tv.  The Mets are retiring Keith Hernandez’ number on Saturday.  Keith is one of my heroes from the ‘86 Mets.  It’s a well deserved honor. Saw a documentary about Hernandez’ career a few days ago.  They interviewed a number of his former teammates.  I love how they interviewed Wally Backman at the Long Island

 Today is Ringo Star’s birthday. Happy birthday, and many more! But for some reason I’ve got Paul McCartney on my mind. Remember the "Paul is Dead" hoax? I remember finding out about it when I was about 10, we went to visit my parents' friends, and their son -- who was a few years older than me -- showed me a newspaper article detailing all of the "clues" that supposedly proved Paul died in 1966.  The rumor  started in 1969, some 3 years after the "death", and quickly spread.  The clues included how Paul was portrayed on the cover of the  Abbey Road  album, and that John allegedly said "I buried Paul" at the end of the song "Strawberry Fields" (he actually said "cranberry sauce").  there are references to an auto accident in "A Day in the Life" that supposedly describe Paul's death as well. I wish Ringo a long and happy life. But the irony if Paul becomes the last surviving Beatle …   

 I think I may have done something I will live to regret. Remember last week I mentioned that Drew and I saw a community theater production of The Mikado ?  The group that presented the performance is devoted to presenting the works of Gilbert and Sullivan.  Drew has been involved with the group, on and off, for decades.   He last graced the stage about 13 years ago, and then dropped out because he was busy with his job and other commitments. But we have several friends who are actively involved in the group, so we try to see each year’s production. When we saw The Mikado , we found out that next year the group will stage Princess Ida.    I’m not familiar with familiar with that work, but Drew got all excited about being in next year’s show.  He bought the libretto and he’s re-learning the ensemble parts.   Well, Drew had his annual 4th of July barbecue Sunday, and one of the guests currently sits on the board of the theater group.  Drew told his friend “I’m really thinking of particip

 52nd Street, NYC

 I was so disappointed.  When I turn on the tv to watch fireworks I expect to see, well, fireworks. I can tolerate shots of the singers and musicians who accompany the light show while fireworks go off in the background.  But repeated crowd shots get boring really fast.  And did we really need dancers? Seriously, they had an hour and a half of air time to showcase the talent, so when it was time for the main event … that’s what the audience should see. I’m sure Becca enjoyed the fireworks, though.  She and Brendan went up to the roof of their apartment building — they live in the East 20’s, with a perfect view of the East River. I’ve never seen the Macy’s fireworks except on tv.  I had a chance to see them live once, and Becca is the reason I couldn’t. July 4, 1992.  The NYC  events were all focused on New York Harbor and the Hudson River.   The Macy’s fireworks would be presented at night, of course.  During the day there’d be a special  Op Sail  event, a regatta of tall ships in hono

Today  I begin this month as honorary co hostess of this blog hop.  That means I get to pick our themes.  So on this American Independence Day, we will celebrate with freedom of choice. One of my regrets is a concert I did not attend.  September 19, 1981, Simon and Garfunkel had a reunion concert in Central Park.  A group of my friends went to the concert, but I did not.  I was recovering from mono at the time,  my doctor told me I shouldn’t go … I listened to my doctor, and have regretted it ever since. So today let’s celebrate the music of Simon and Garfunkel. The Sound of Silence     The Boxer    Bridge Over Troubled Water    Hazy Shade of Winter    I Am A Rock    Scarborough Fair    Mrs. Robinson America   

 One thing about going to a Ducks game … the ballpark does not have its own parking lot.  You park in the lot for the county courthouse and walk.  It’s not far, you just have to walk down the path between the fire museum and the duck pond. Well, today there was a traffic jam at the pond.       I think they were headed to the ballpark.  Wondering if they are hoping for the “friends and family” discount. Anyhow, there was a major tragedy at the ballpark. Alas, poor flip flop… and they were an expensive pair, authentic Crocs.  There was almost a brawl, both teams came out of their respective dugouts ready to fight.  The umpires managed to get everyone under control. Someone in the stands had a balloon.  They let go of it halfway through the game, and we all watched it sail away over the centerfield billboard. And should I mention the three idiots at the game?    Play had to be stopped in the middle of an inning while three teenagers ran from left field to right field.   Two of them were s