A FEW COMMENTS AND UPDATES

Having attended a truly wonderful performance by the amazingly talented and personable Pat Wictor today I was put in mind, by some attendees, of putting more information on this page regarding upcoming performances by artists in that genre.  Good point!  And so it shall be.  Keep looking here for updates for some of your favorite artists and venues such as the aforementioned Pat Wictor, Brother Sun, and ever so many more along with venues like Acoustic Cafe, The Turning Point, and ever so many more---that is what Bing and Google are for.  A fairly complete list will be here in a day or so.

For those of you who attended today's concert at The Orangeburg Library I am sure you were delighted with Mr. Wictor and when you heard his comments (and mine) about Brother Sun you may well have wondered what we were raving and about---unless, of course, you purchased the CD. Well, here is a sample----



If you find them in your area believe me that they are not to be missed. Individual performers in their on right but together---I cannot describe the feeling. Greg Greenway has a stage presence that is not to be believed, Joe Jencks has a voice and a charisma from heaven, and Pat Wictor you, who read this, know what I cannot properly describe about magnetism---and together---it is a truly powerful magnet.

We will get back to NOBODY ASKED ME BUT.. this Thursday (hopefully). Jimmy Cannon, sadly, is still dead but I will try to carry on the tradition as often as possible--one comment to dwell on---

Nobody Asked Me But---Subway manners have not changed. Years back people avoided eye contact and stared that their newspapers---now they avoid eye contact and are glued to electrcnic devices. Safer, I add, than doing it while driving. Another plus for public transportration---though , as it turns out, is not much less than your own car. Check those tolls today. You need a passport and a visa to go from one side of the Hudson to another---and on to Long Island---or is it a mortgage? Yes. the latter since there are no EZ passes for passports which cost even more. No one wants you to leave this bucolic land of plenty--"plenty" as in plenty of red tape, high costs, and, yet, still the best place to be. Some other time we can talk of when tolls were .25 for the TBTA and .50 on the GWB and, of course, houses were not McMansions and priced as if they were Mansions.

Stay tuned for Concer Updates--and radio updates.

Some Brief Musical & Misc. Comments for a Rainy Tues.

Going first with the musical comments I just want to say thanks to to folks who have e mailed wfdutraditions@yahoo.com  to let me know that they like the new feature about the voices that we have lost and want to hear again---and requests for that segment are always welcome.  This is in addition to the other features of the program----The Tops in Pops, The Best in The West, and The Thrills of The Hills (and, as always a tip of the faithful fedora to Dave Miller/WPAT/1950s) and our story segment.

This coming Sunday one of the artists will be John Hartford in the segment about voices we have lost.  Be surprised with the others.

As to the Misc. Thoughts. 

Not wanting to sound like Scrooge I do admit to not reading the NY Times "Neediest Cases" anymore since it seems to me that some of them are truly a bit over the top and hyped by the paper.  Yes,  they do bring a tear to my eye---actually both of them.  Yet, if you read the details you realize that there is more to the story as is the case in most articles in the paper---and, yet,  incomparable to the papers that are best used as wrappers of dead fish---we know who those are.

If you want a really good cry do read this past Sunday's NYTimes magazine about the couple who married in and assisted living place while both were victims of a fatal cancer (she died prior to publication).   I am still drying my eyes.

Finally---good to see protest movements like the OWS and all deciding to take a winter break.  Unlike the protesters with singular causes---Viet Nam, WW1 vets in DC, and other single issue protests these folks know about winter cold and comfort----well, once the spring arrives and their warm winter evenings are over I am sure they will be back with another bundle of banter amidst budding blossoms in various park like settings.  

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

A flip of the fedora to JIMMY CANNON

NOBODY ASKED ME BUT.......

1)   If you were observant you noticed there was no issue last week---Thanksgiving Day.  If you were observant you may well be Orthodox Jewish---and who know, then, if you are one of the other 2 people who scan this most deep missive from week to week.   Then again, who knows how many of you 2 like $5 words---for $1.95 I can say—“posting” or “read”---as opposed to “peruse”.  Hell, I do not want this to be the NY Post of today---the NY Times is better.

2)  Does anyone here recall when the NY Post was a truly “good” newspaper and held its own against the NY Times?   Think of some of the writers there and name them if you can.   One must say “shame” to Dorothy Schiff for trading in any ideals she may have had for the dollars of Murdoch and the demise of an historic newspaper.

3)   Speaking of “Fishwrappers”---here are some trivia questions—

a.       What was the subtitle of the NY Daily News in the 1940s and years after that?

b.      What was the name of the paper that had Nick Kenny as a columnist and specialized in racing results?

c.       What newspaper did Steve Allen parody with his “letters to the editor” routine?

                   NO GOOGLING OR BINGING ALLOWED---BE HONEST---BOTH OF YOU!

4) Herman Cain must believe that when there is smoke it is just some vapor and there is no fire.   A great man who does not believe in cliches---well, maybe a few fabrications.

5)   Pat Wictor will be giving a concert at The Orangeburg Library on Dec. 18 (2 PM).  It is FREE ---BUT you do need to reserve a seat by calling 845 359-2244 (ext. 10) since seating is limited and approx. 50% of seats are now spoken for.

6)   TRADITIONS will be featuring a brand new CD from John Prine on the Dec. 11 program---a recent discovery by him of some early recordings.  You will be amazed how the voice has changed----for the better.

7)  I am still trying to understand the reasons people read the NY Post or The NY Daily News unless they feel that the really big news is all about the “trash” that passes for popular talent or, rather, hyped personalities with no substance.

8)  Newt Gingrich is a great choice if you want a philanderer as opposed to a philanderer or a lobbyist who is not a lobbyist but just a consultant. Oh, the hypocrisy of today’s candidates--if you recall the worry about the mentioning of Adlai Stevenson's divorce and the affairs and Catholicism of JFK.

9)  One does have to wonder about the banks and their wonderful commercials that tell you how friendly and convenient they are.  They also conveniently charge you for a lot of things in the small print one does not know about---or care about.   Does it really cost them anything if you are inactive?   Last person I knew who was inactive had a “headache”===I did not charge her a nickel. Then, I am not a bank.

10)                If someone throws a frozen turkey out of a car and you are not hit does that mean you dodged a pullet? If, on the other hand, you have a bible in your shirt pocket and a ham hits you and you survive does that mean that mean survival because of liberal interpretation of the laws of Kashruth-or the mercy of ---well, you know who? I really thought that entity---if there is one---had more important things to focus on.

11)                  Back to the chicken.   Why did he cross the road?   Truthfully, he thought he was a mountain climber and, I quote the chicken,  “...because it is there...”   Admittedly less risky.  Smart fowl.  And the little bugger talked.  Amazing!

                                    

THURSDAY--Another Edition of--

A flip of fedora to Jimmy Cannon

NOBODY ASKED ME BUT.......

1)   Don’t you sometimes wonder why a person would just walk into some other people’s conversation and start talking about what it is they want to talk about?   Seems strange that this could be a grown person who, probably, taught his/her own children years back---do not interrupt people unless it is important and then say “...excuse me...”

2)   Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?

3)   In this day of promotion and hype and 24/7 nitpicking news coverage one will overlook a pearl amongst the swine---I give you John Huntsman.   My own preference is still the incumbent but I do respect his knowledge and seeming sincerity.

4)   But I need some understanding on this---if a homeless person sleeps in a park he may well be arrested but unfocused “protesters”(to who knows what) get to encamp for over a month it is OK.   Seems like a conflict of priorities here. 

5)  My problem is I do not get to a punchline rapidly----SO—“..If I have your millions Mister---can I sleep in your park..?”

6)  Chanukah will soon be upon us and since it is the “festival of lights” given the miracle of the oil---that small amount lasted all those days---perhaps we might hope for another miracle of the oil as we fill our tanks with almost $4.00/gal. gas and have it last for weeks on end so it will average---you pick a price you like.

7)   A little heads up for a bargain is always good.  Here is your heads up for a wonderful FREE concert by an amazing talent---PAT WICTOR.  He will be at The Orangeburg Library on Dec.18 at 2 PM---BUT you must call to make a reservation because seating is limited.  There is no charge---merely call 845 359-2244 to reserve your seat.  You want a place to your seat and this will be a good place to put your seat on a reserved seat.  Bet they match and fit well.

8)  Here is an idea from a letter writer to the NY Times---sounds good to me:

               
Re “Beyond Seizing Parks, New Paths to Influence” (front page, Nov. 16):
Officials should designate an area in a New York City park as a public speaking forum for Occupy Wall Street in the tradition of Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park in London. Maybe with a designated forum for ad hoc and prepared speeches, a leader of the movement will emerge.
Who knows? The better speeches could go viral on YouTube.

       9)   On the lighter side let me add this final thought as seen on Stephen Colbert last evening---in wonderful bad taste---there is a fortune to made in bad taste t-shirts with slogans such as “...I’m not squinting---I’m Korean.”  Let’s not do away with ethnic humor---it is in the mix as was Amos N Andy—on which I could I write an essay on their pertinence.  George Carlin understood that as did Lenny Bruce.  Not the shock comics of today with no point.  It is in the context of the presenter and any point he/she might make in that context.   That said---Sarah Silverman is one who I still find offensive and pointless but I will give her points for one good line that only a  Jewish woman could pull off----“...I was raped by a doctor---it was sort of a bittersweet experience...)  I am sure it is a paraphrase but I believe you will get the point.

 10) A round number like 10 is always the best way to go out---so a last thought--do not miss a wonderful program this Sunday on Sunday Simcha.    Wonderful music and interesting conversations.

                              

THURSDAY--Another Edition of--

A flip of the proverbial fedora to  JIMMY CANNON

NOBODY ASKED ME BUT.......

1)   One hears so many comments about “our brave Veterans”, “oh, the sacrifices they have made for the love of this nation..” and they are all true.  It would be nice and proper if comments were also made about how they were suckered into a mistaken and falsely explained war by the former administration---and also that many needed the employment. The risks come with the territory of unemployment.  Of course the miscreants of said administration are now cashing in with books and comments of their correct decisions---as if they were facts

2)  Another sad loss in the music community.  The sad and rapid loss of Terrence Martin who was on the way to a brilliant career---and, more important, raising and enjoying his family.  He passed away so young like many others---famous and not famed folks---but in the “famed” department he joins (sadly) Kate Wolf, Phil Ochs, Townes Van Zandt, and more too numerous to mention.

3) Why do some people have the urge (and follow through on it) to post their every move and thought on Facebook---mostly mundane?  Better yet---why do people respond to this nonsense?  Then again there is Twitter so you can even faster and briefer updates on the above.  Yeats, Shakespeare, Shirer, and other writers and memoirists would be proud.

4)  I am certainly hoping you will be tuned in this Sunday for SUNDAY SIMCHA on WFDU at 10 A M ET (or on the web at www.wfdu.fm where it will be archived for 2 weeks).  A wonderful segment about the new Folksbiene Season---AND---an interview with Neshama Carlbach about her, her music, and her father Shlomo---with some great insights by Neshama. In addition wait for the surprises next week---we are on a roll here now in ---Here is the slogan---WFDU—KEEPING YIDDISHKEIT ON THE AIR.   Anyone wanting to ask the station for a bumper sticker and be a proud supporter---go ahead!!

5)   If you recall Steve Allen and his spoof of the NY Daily News letters to the Editor (which was just great) you have to appreciate the intelligent and succinct ones in the NY Times. 

6)  Mario Battalli, the chef with political opinions, is being pilloried for a fairly true statement in which he was not praising Hitler but, rather, denigrating the denizens of Wall Street---OK---he bit the hand that feeds him.  Good for him!  I am glad that I never re-mortgaged the old homestead to eat in his highly priced (not prized—priced) restaurant(s) even though I agree with him.

7)  Has anyone ever noticed the inverse relationship to quality between a film or a book and the amount of time the people involved appear on talk shows?

                                                                 

THURSDAY--Another Edition of--

A flip of the fedora to Jimmy Cannon

NOBODY ASKED ME BUT.......

1)  Recording has really evolved---from shouting into a horn to 78s/LPs/ CDs/ MP3 Downloads and allowing artists to “mail” their segments in and let the engineers create the final product.  The final product was better as a recording than a single song download we now get with no thematic thread. 

2)   99 cents for a song (download)---you used to get a 78 rpm record for that price.  I guess the circle goes around---though that had 2 songs and you could use your steel tipped needle to listen and destroy it.\

3) “Folksbiene”---the National Yiddish Theater has some wonderful presentations planned.  Stay tuned to Sunday Simcha to find out about them----you do not want to miss them

4)  Wouldn’t it be best if people could sympathize with your serious problems rather than saying that things could be worse.  They could be but they are what they are.   On the brighter side one should also consider one’s good fortune when a disaster strikes (storms, illness, etc;) and one’s damage and/or pain is minimal.  

5) From tiny acorns mighty Oaks grow and then the get hit with an out of season snowstorm and crash.

6)  November 9^th is the sad anniversary of Krystalnacht and Sunday Simcha & Traditions have commemorated this sad event over the years.  Due to the unseasonal weather problems that will not be the case this year but the event will be in my mind and I hope you, as well, will reflect on it.