THURSDAY Another Edition of......

A flip of the fedora to Jimmy Cannon

Nobody Asked Me But:

1) I wonder if a deceased person can die again by suicide since that is what Conan Doyle would surely do once he heard of the latest incarnation of his hated (by him) and much loved (by others) is amazing how much one can learn by observing service people working on your various electronic or other appliances. And then do it yourself next time. Is that like “live and learn”?

The 2) The stock market seems to know my future moves---Buy---it goes down. Sell---it goes up.

3) It is amazing how much one can learn by observing service people working on your various electronic or other appliances. And then do it yourself next time. Is that like “live and learn”?

4) The fascinating interview about Facebook on WNYC and the ramifications to your privacy and identity issues was truly informative and worrisome

5) If an admitted trained terrorist wants to blow up an airliner and fails why not treat him as an “enemy combatant” and try him militarily

6) It is about time we left security to the experts (with civilian oversight—ala the military) and not to ex-politicos. Ms. Napolitano is a disaster---“...the system did not fail”—it did and the paying public saved the passengers.

7) Sort of tacky for someone to blow his horn and bellow at a funeral because his car is blocked---which made my comment to him appropriate (I was the offender due to cir

cumstances beyond my control)----“...relax, dig a ditch and hop right in for eternity---you’ll like the neighborhood”.

8) Does anyone recall the lyrics to “If I knew You Were Coming I’d Have Baked A Cake”? Try it with the above lyrics.

9) Why are people so upset with Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, etc; All just “human rights” we are talking about?

10) Why are people so upset with the abortion issue?(which has been settled) Let’s take a positive spin here----Those folks are saving fortunes of money in expenses that never existed before in raising kids to carry on their poverty stricken names.

THURSDAY--Another Edition of......:

The weekly flip of the fedora to Jimmy Cannon.









Nobody Asked Me But:


1) Is David Buskin right? You develop a Jewish accent when you age? I heard, recently, I have a New Yawk accent---Vots de madder you don like de way I tawk? (Great story behind that---email poobah891@yahoo.com for the story)


2) My idea for an employment agency might work---jobs that are all volunteer jobs with no pay. I have tested it on myself and it works really well.


3) When did the expression “Have A Nice Day” come into being? It is an automatic response from everyone and posted on buses—Peter Ustinov had the right response---“I Have Other Plans”.


4) Is it obligatory to say Happy New Year or Happy Holidays at this time of year?


5) George Carlin’s posthumous memoir is truly delightful and makes you laugh out loud. He played words like a virtuoso plays the violin.


6) Sherlock Holmes was classic so he should not be changed into an action hero. Some things should be sacrosanct . Imagine Hamlet hammering the hell out of his mother, Polonius, and everyone in his sight. “Yeah—Ma, this one’s for you==f+*(> with my dad, will you”.


7) Do you remember when the Mad Subway Bomber in NYC was news? Terrorists change their profile all the time and, for that reason, profiling does not work but a “Proton Screener”(if that is the term)does---its private enough and your private parts are still private---only the security person can have fantasies.


8) It seems almost as expensive to travel from the West Side of the Hudson to Long Island as buying food, film tickets, passport applications, and many other things. I recall the 25 cent toll(each way—now 5.50 each way) on the East River Bridges and the “very” expensive Geo. Washington Bridge at 50 cents (each way). Think, now, pensions, overtime, salaries (for people holding their hand out for tolls---like beggars but with pensions), and maintenance (low on the list).


9) Public transportation is one of the best things the NYC area has to offer but what was wrong with IRT, BMT, IND? Did we really need 1234ABCDZQL? It used to be fairly simple.


10) I have to recommend an amazing tour de force of a performance---Zero Hour. You will believe you are watching Zero Mostel in a performance both funny , serious, and meaningful. Check The Almost Daily Rooster for a clip from the official web page of the show.


11) As the ball drops for another year let me say to be of good cheer and hope this year will be better than the last and that your year may be filled with health, happiness, good cheer, good friends, tolerable relatives, and all the things you wish for yourselves provided you do not wish to be a mass murderer or a fanatic of any sort.

A Request for That Laugh A Day

Good therapy is, as we now know, to have a laugh a day---have to keep those endorphins happy and moving. So---skip on over to THE ALMOST DAILY ROOSTER----some laughs await and some memories from where Monty Python et al evolved.

Hopefully you will be joining me and my co-host Ron Olesko this coming Sunday for our look back on the year in music---our and your musical niche. Not a top 10 or 20 but, rather, an afternoon of what we found truly interesting and probably have neglected some pieces. Feel free to e mail if you have some that you, after hearing the show, felt should be included.

A picture is worth at least 10 words---not really a thousand so to intrigue you to go to the link above:

THURSDAY--Another Edition of......:

And a flip of the fedora to JIMMY C ANNON....

Nobody Asked Me But:

1) I still remember a time when on Christmas Eve most restaurants, movies, etc; were closed. Times change and sometimes for the better----sometimes not so. Open facilities is a change for the better.

2) TV just seems to get less and less creative as there are more and more channels. Too much of a “good” thing?

3) A brief list of the “best of” in TV past and present: PRESENT: Curb Your Enthusiasm, House (silly but fun), Monk (now gone), Mad Men (season over), Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert (his audience reaction is an annoyance—controlled by him), Jeopardy (the eternal program with the blandness perfected host).

PAST: St. Elsewhere, Homicide—Life On The Streets, Married With Children, Sherlock Holmes (via BBC)---and then there was the Golden Age produced by gas operated cameras---Philco Playhouse, Studio One, and more.

4) The controversy about Pope Pius XII and sainthood has to make one wonder about one thing---who cares? If there is a God then who are humans to decide and if there is not a God---well---who cares?

5) I surely hope that newspapers are not relegated to the trash bin because of the internet. Google does not replace insightful commentary and instant communication is not an improvement over a slower and more insightful communiqué.

6) The best films are still the ones without the big special effects but excellent acting where the actors inhabit the characters---Merryl Streep is that perfect example.
7) Who cares about Tiger Woods and his affairs---other than the tabloids and the “great unwashed” (quote from an old novel on the topic) who buy those fish wrappers.

8) Lobbies of buildings really should be cleared to be able to use the space for all the holiday symbols everyone wants displayed---Christmas Trees, Menorahs, Kwanzaa, and I am sure Muslims will chime in at some point---

9) A brief start for a song that might be appropriate which some talented songwriter might finish—“Clear the halls of boughs of Holly and save your fa la las for some other folly. Blow the candles out and let the Macabees pout---all the while you can wear a smile knowing that---“Here Is Where the songwriter is needed.

10) I truly wish all a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah (however it is spelled), Joyous Kwanzaa( and do not deny that the candles are not similar to Chanukah candles---in this newest holiday creation), and happy whatever Athiests commemorate at this time of year---would not a Joyous Solstice suffice for all of us on this small part of space---the days are now getting longer---always things to look forward to.

THURSDAY and another edition of....

And the weekly flip of the fedora to JIMMY CANNON

Nobody Asked Me But:

1) The end of the year always brings 10 best lists for the media when most things are subjective so why not just have hosts come up with “My Personal Favorites”---they may not be yours.

2)The Second City is 50 years old and I amazed at the amount of comedic talent they have given the world.

3) .If Hannukah is “The Festival of Lights” and Christmas celebrates a birth in a simple manger how come Hannukah only has a menorah and most neighborhoods celebrating Christmas can support a utility company with electricity used for all the lights?

4) .Perhaps Tiger Woods will find a product that is the opposite of Viagra that will let him endorse it if he uses it. Good for them both, it would seem.

.

5) .Some great artists and athletes leave the world too soon to lose the luster they have gained---then again some might not lose it at all---I am thinking of Arthur Ashe.

6) wonder if “server” farms have to have virtual farmers milk them or harvest them from time to time.

7) Who remembers the decade when banks were giving 10% + interest and you got a toaster for depositing funds. Now you get a toaster and they give you a bank---well, a failed one.

8) Some banks are too big to fail---is that like the fat cat being to large to die?

9) How many “apps” does a phone need before it is not a phone anymore? Probably the same amount of roads a man must walk before they call him a man---but at least he can talk while walking without crashing---just walk into traffic instead.

10) My hat is off to the woman who turned lemons into lemonade when she had a mastectomy and then started a line of T-shirts with uplifting and clever comments on them about Cancer.

SOME COMMENTS AND UPDATES

I have to start with TRADITIONS this past Sunday. My thanks to the truly complimentary and interested callers to the program. Perhaps it seems to be a rushed conversation at times due to not having a "producer" (inside joke) and having two hands and only one brain. That being the fact I have to say that I appreciate the input and the requests---some of which will be addressed in January. Except for the video which is presented here since I was asked for more guitar music by Junior Brown:


The woman playing guitar ---or is it guit--is his wife. Some time back I saw him open for John Prine in a show that proved to be, well, "over the top".

Aside from the nice input I have to say I am looking forward to December 27 when Ron and I will both be present to present to you---I don't share a damned thing being a real Capitalist--our favorite recordings of the past year. Not "The Best". Music is subjective and even our picks as to our favorites may not always coincide. Surely, even some will be left out that we both had hoped to include. Are they Grammy nominees--probably not. Some--maybe. It matters not since, as far as I am concerned, Grammy matter not a whit when it comes to true talent in a meaningful musical vein.

This could of course lead me into a comment I made this past Sunday regarding venues. You can pay big bucks for name performers---mainstream performers--but you can have an evening (or day) finding performers you never heard of that will grab you even more and for a fraction of the cost-----hell, as I said, you might even win a backstage pass. That was the joke----they are open to the audience.

Now, to get to SUNDAY SIMCHA . This coming Sunday I will give you a quick preview of one item and then tell you of something that touched me quite a bit. As to the preview---on Traditions I thought about this piece and felt it was appropriate for Sunday Simcha---as well as Traditions. So it was played there as well. The Capitol Steps, you all know, are a group I believe has some brilliant satirical material and I am happy that WFDU has the exclusive airings of their quarterly presentations since I arranged that. The other Public (or "community" stations) do not present them. The piece you will hear on Sunday Simcha (in Comedy Corner) will be one you also heard on Traditions----Deck The Halls With Bows To Allah. Topical, satirical, and gentle as opposed to other outlets for wit. Satire was gentler in the Tom Lehrer days but this is a true successor to that---have a peek:

The Capitol Steps and their unique brand of comedic talent that it is a delight to be able to present quarterly on WFDU.

Getting back to Sunday Simcha again. I received some requests this week and also one note I must tell you of because it was truly a delight to receive. The young---and I say "young" because she made that point---lady was delighted that she discovered The Weavers while listening to the Hannukah program. Given her age she had never heard of them. She made me realize that I do believe I have hit on the proper mix---old and new, traditional and non-traditional. My belief is that we have to open ourselves up to listening, accepting, and enjoying music from different generations. I admit to not wanting to hear or play the work of Matisyahoo and that is my fault and narrowness. Admittedly. Just as I won't play "rap" on Traditions and, yet, Woody Guthrie was the original rapper.

Playing newer versions and older versions of songs that might be considered "traditional", playing Jewish themed music, and playing newer music created by Jewish composers/ artists seems to open people up to an acceptance of things that have evolved with time. Be it music, literature, and, as always, Comedy Corner.

There is always a place to enjoy---and"kvell" ---with the Sholom Secundas but we also can enjoy the newer things---I won't say "shticks" because that is not what this is about---say something like this:



An insightful discussion into the metamorphosis of "Shtick" to comedy into a newer world---and someday I would love to give you some insights into Richard Belzer into the other participants.

The last comment on that subject is Lenny Bruce---like Richard Pryor---a person before his time ( or perhaps of his time) and not fully appreciated then.

OK---we close with a few comments:

Oral Roberts died a brief time ago---sadly at his University they were never able to play any recordings because he was so effective that when anyone touche a record the hole healed.

Hannukah is the festival of lights and as Jon Stewart, so aptly, showed on his program of 12/14 it seems the Christmas Lights beat a few small candles in that realm. Yet---I am still hoping for the Miracle Of The Oil so that my gas tank will last for eight weeks and not one.