tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52972822012-02-16T08:38:14.913-05:00“Here, where the air is loaded with iodine and where the ultra-violet ray is ever-present in our smiling sunshine, your health and happiness is our business.” Sun Fun in New Jersey (1946 publication of the New Jersey Resort Association)Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.comBlogger33681100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-87645104269690221802012-02-15T20:01:00.015-05:002012-02-16T02:39:59.601-05:00

Elizabeth isn't the ugliest city in New Jersey. But on a gray, damp, chilly March afternoon it seemed like it as two female  cabbies gave me tours of some of the ugliest streets, avoiding downtown traffic. Downtown is ugly, too. Not for the most part residential streets,  but light manufacturing, machine & suspicious looking  auto body shops, specialized building supplies, fenced in lots with

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-76616476316124593842012-02-14T16:18:00.016-05:002012-02-15T00:30:00.028-05:00

In the summer of 1966, when  I  was 17 & a recent high school graduate, I met  Karen Battell,  16,  entering her junior year, & a devoted dance student.  For about two years from that time well  into 1968 we were  a couple. Her family witnessed it, my family witnessed it, our friends witnessed it, probably most teenagers in  Roselle Park knew it.  We reached the point when adolescent  lovers

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-31560017155779942742012-02-13T21:43:00.003-05:002012-02-13T21:51:50.641-05:00

Two things to be considered. First, there's a physiological disposition toward addiction. Some bodies become addicted to alcohol or drugs  more easily than others.  Second, there's an emotional condition driving a person to self-medicate. Put those two together & you get an Amy Winehouse & a Whitney Houston. So  we ask, "Why didn't family & friends & all those folks who say they loved them

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-45865173237707499172012-02-12T00:32:00.003-05:002012-02-12T01:48:23.678-05:00

Union Road, dated 1941, probably earlier photoMost of these houses are still there.

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-23656985967382602272012-02-08T18:42:00.006-05:002012-02-09T20:48:53.316-05:00

I  almost have something to say. It's coming together. I have to trust  it wasn't all something I imagined. Terrific cover of this Doobie Brothers hit. Instead of Michael McDonald's exercise in self-humiliation, we get a gossipy third person account of an embarrassing incident at a party. By the end, Sharon sounds so obsessed & worked up by what she witnessed that we sense she actually feels

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-84661868488617223682012-02-07T08:43:00.002-05:002012-02-08T04:03:52.869-05:00

because love covers over a multitude of sins. – 1 Peter 4:8 (NIV) Came in my e mail today.

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-77170761908981285602012-02-06T19:21:00.007-05:002012-02-06T22:35:47.699-05:00

Bringer of Old Age, Ruler of Capricorn. Charles MacKerras was one of my favorite conductors & he knew how to bring this wonderful music from gloom & struggle to serenity (shift occurs at 6:20). In some astrological interpretations, Capricorns are older souls, having passed through 9 signs previously. So they tend to be cautious, conservative, efficient,  serious,  perhaps frugal  (they'll

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-18591570718679179822012-02-05T00:20:00.010-05:002012-02-13T03:21:13.016-05:00

In Memory of Karen [ Battell ] Silva The Doors at Asbury Park Convention Hall. Postcard  is from 1968.  But I saw them here in summer  of 1967.  The Doors had been hastily booked in place of a Lou Rawls show, on the strength  of the monster hit "Light My Fire."  Tickets were cheap, the Hall maybe 2/3rds filled.  I brought my beautiful  girlfriend, Karen,  always up for a night on a boardwalk

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-66900854434874857172012-02-03T21:16:00.002-05:002012-02-03T21:18:32.644-05:00

Chorus angelorum te suscipiat May the ranks of angels receive you Sad news today. My brother Joe reads the obits, remembered she was my first great love,  & broke the news.  It was a long time ago. She is  so special in my heart & memories.

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-71838740098735875842012-02-02T15:57:00.013-05:002012-02-03T01:24:32.160-05:00

The fury of women at Susan G. Komen for the Cure® for de-funding Planned Parenthood is really something. One commentator wrote it's a "case study  in how to destroy a brand in 48 hours."  On the NJ Komen® website, State Executive Director Lisa Gallipoli writes: The North Jersey Affiliate has always exhibited the highest level of transparency and integrity in our grant-making process to ensure the

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-71542153067800337202012-02-01T19:43:00.004-05:002012-02-02T01:52:13.808-05:00

Low sixties here today, forties through weekend. Every day like this is one day closer to spring, & one more day without snow or icy slop. But Jersey is a humid coastal state, & winter is when we have our clean, clear dry cold air, good for people with allergies - just about everyone is allergic to one thing or another.  A deep freeze is  necessary for a really colorful early springtime when the

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-1988212353313228912012-01-30T23:26:00.008-05:002012-02-06T03:30:21.835-05:00

The problem is  when I'm having a lucid dream & sort of know it but I'm not yet fully aware it's a dream. Unless you know it's a dream, it's even more difficult to manipulate it. It's hard to get dream beings to pay attention to you,.You know they know you're there, but they ignore you. If you can get them to talk to you, they speak perfectly fine English but what they say often makes  little 

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-48590877073193236552012-01-29T00:16:00.001-05:002012-01-29T03:42:55.270-05:00

Downtown Elizabeth about 1970.  Lower left is county courthouse with new jail & parking garage, but not a large annex behind that now has most of county offices. Across street lower left is main library before addition was built. My mom worked on one of the upper floors of the courthouse tower, great south  view, I was up there a few times.  Behind courthouse on other side of railroad is infamous

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-4850748937869928772012-01-27T22:22:00.013-05:002012-01-28T04:46:50.583-05:00

Watching some of the Tony Bennett Duets II special on PBS.  During the fundraising break, Tony, in TV studio, said Amy Winehouse was the best singer of her generation,  comparing her to Billie Holiday  & Ella Fitzgerald. Now think on that, & who said it. Tony's a nice guy, but not so nice he'd lie & say that about Carrie Underwood or Lady Gaga or Beyoncé. Tony fell silent  & the host quickly

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-19577380538661399542012-01-26T19:01:00.003-05:002012-01-26T19:10:29.696-05:00

From Sue's first album, recorded in 1958 when she was 17 or 18, what could have been better than to be signed to Capitol Records & paired with arranger Nelson Riddle at the peak of his talents? When Your Lover Has Gone is quite a romantic album  in an innocent (not naive) way, this truly is a teenager singing. But Sue already has the cool Fifties style where less is more,  her trademark

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-12207386155978808212012-01-26T00:29:00.002-05:002012-01-26T05:20:50.482-05:00

For poets, an elaboration on something Picasso said: It's one thing to discover a colorful tossed salad is actually a tropical bird, quite another to find out it's only iceberg lettuce & hothouse tomato. It seems like every day I read a poem on Facebook that's "poetic" but it's only  a simple observation that should have stayed a simple observation. Transform or stop. Otherwise it's just

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-19825675809028837822012-01-25T23:26:00.008-05:002012-01-26T00:28:13.001-05:00

Chris Rock reminds me of the guys at the train station who  get in close to you  & run off at their mouths about any old shit while you're trying to use the outside platform ticket machine.  The game is to make you screw up   the steps, at which point they try to step in & do it for you so you'll either give them the change the machine drops or hand them something out of your pocket. Since I

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-24878570157438709482012-01-24T00:42:00.005-05:002012-01-24T03:59:17.696-05:00

For me, it somehow captures the essence of urban fauna, the creepy animals half-glimpsed at night crawling out of garbage cans & fleeing into the weeds by  polluted creeks. WTF was that? "Anatomy is destiny," comments X Ray Burns, either quoting Freud or referring to a short song by the death metal band Exhumed.

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-40694485476619001402012-01-23T18:37:00.009-05:002012-01-24T04:27:43.804-05:00

 New Brunswick's Court Tavern closes. I read poetry at The Court Tavern maybe three times I remember, once upstairs in a conventional reading, & twice in the basement as  part of  lengthy poet & band benefits for literary 'zines. I was only peripherally connected to the poetry scene in New Brunswick. Having resided in & around New Brunswick for a few years, after I moved away  I developed an

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-78735159947391345872012-01-22T11:34:00.003-05:002012-01-22T20:13:04.519-05:00

South Carolina isn't representative of The United States. It doesn't want to be representative of The United States. That's the  identity of  South Carolina. 29% of the population of South Carolina is black, 99% of Republican primary voters are white. Newt blew the race dogwhistle (actually, it was an air horn), add in Mitt just being Mitt, & Gingrich gets, what? 8 delegates? 80% of the Repugs

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-91319425734662530102012-01-22T00:11:00.000-05:002012-01-22T00:11:00.187-05:00

Italian Kitchen American Italian Restaurant

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-25718675340152902812012-01-20T15:53:00.003-05:002012-01-20T22:54:47.122-05:00

If you know Etta James only as "Dance With Me, Henry" & "At Last," you got some listening to do. Los Angeles Times writer Randy Lewis calls Etta "Perhaps the quintessential R&B diva .... equally at home singing unadulterated blues, searing R&B and sophisticated jazz..." Etta died only days after bandleader Johnny Otis,  who "discovered" her when she was a teenager in Los Angeles.  Etta wasn't a

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-58479451252524691942012-01-19T21:40:00.003-05:002012-01-21T00:32:32.245-05:00

Went to download an out-of-print LP by jazz singer Sue Raney via a blog I've used many times for that kind of music, & the linked file site would not come up in the browser. I pasted the link in notepad & lo it was for megaupload: Megaupload, one of the internet's largest file-sharing sites, has been shut down by officials in the US. The site's founders have been charged with violating piracy

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-29818139200180752332012-01-18T21:19:00.001-05:002012-01-18T21:23:02.925-05:00

Looks like all of Jersey's senators & reps but one are  opposing the Stop Online Piracy Act & the Protect Intellectual Property Act, even the ones supporting or co-sponsoring the bill 48 hours ago. Rats leaping off a sinking ship?  These bills were difficult to understand, & only over the past week have some clear explanations of the fine print made it around the intertubes, Those provisions that

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-1815300795100402502012-01-17T19:13:00.003-05:002012-01-17T20:57:32.788-05:00

WTF? moment, when Capt. Francesco Schettino of the Costa Concordia suggested that the rocks his ship hit weren't on the charts. You mean, I thought, that the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Carthaginians, the Italians,  all, over the past 3,000 years of sailing those waters, failed to notice them? Not that Capt. Schettino was gaining many defenders after it was revealed he abandoned ship

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-42238534764664203152012-01-16T16:00:00.006-05:002012-01-17T01:54:28.830-05:00

"I do not pretend to understand the moral universe. The arc is a long one. My eye reaches but little ways. I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by experience of sight. I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends toward justice." Theodore Parker, 1853I doubt the abolitionist preacher Parker would have cared that Dr. King distilled his unwieldy statement

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-54419779189555149012012-01-15T18:48:00.001-05:002012-01-15T18:57:51.994-05:00

I had a girlfriend starting the summer I graduated high school, Karen - she was hot! a dancer, took lessons three, four days each week, mostly classical ballet. She wanted me to get contact lenses & teach me to dance like this, the pop style - I was a thin, lithe musician with a good sense of rhythm & movement. Maybe figured I could help her do lifts & fly like a bird.  I never doubted I could

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-18825540894417674962012-01-15T01:43:00.001-05:002012-01-15T01:44:12.985-05:00

Tina's Motel

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-4662628029079131262012-01-12T18:03:00.008-05:002012-01-12T22:22:13.021-05:00

Carrie at Carrie's Bar & Grill checks her ISP traffic more than I do, & all too often finds various .gov type sites looking in on her. Lest you think she's being overly paranoid: (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's command center routinely monitors dozens of popular websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, WikiLeaks and news and gossip sites including the Huffington Post

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-17583764083451285342012-01-12T00:47:00.010-05:002012-01-12T04:09:01.481-05:00

Exotica is a relatively recent interest for me, as formerly rare albums have become so easy to find at music blogs. I rarely played it on my radio shows (I did spin jazzy "cocktail" music). Exotica basically comes in two forms, cinematic & lounge; the former mostly imitating movie soundtrack music; the latter a small group style  associated with Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman, vibes or

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-4724845006293847772012-01-09T20:54:00.000-05:002012-01-09T20:54:00.329-05:00

For all the cabs I've taken in Elizabeth, today was first time I had a senior citizen driver.  Gent in his late Sixties I'd guess, friendly, calm, knew exactly where I was going (a section called Bayway) & best way to go there. Didn't get antsy at the really long light at Route One.  Had the sports radio station on, we chatted a little about Tim Tebow. The journey down that way goes through what

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-14001196585683580532012-01-08T00:49:00.000-05:002012-01-08T01:51:10.871-05:00

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-10290875175107879122012-01-07T15:15:00.012-05:002012-01-09T09:57:28.021-05:00

Lola Albright, Dreamsville (1959). The name on the jacket is Lola Albright, but the photo is Edie Hart, P.I. Peter Gunn's regular love interest & singer at Mother's, the intimate waterfront club visited by Gunn in nearly every episode. Over on the right, peering at Edie, is Mother herself, played in the first season by Hope Emerson & the second by Minerva Urecal (they looked remarkably similar)

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-9649916676342203982012-01-06T08:17:00.001-05:002012-01-06T08:17:00.520-05:00

The meaning of their gifts was the tenderness with which they gave. They gave their sadness also, knowing his short life, yet they traveled so far. Their hearts were filled in return with wonder, astonishment, love! They were more than satisfied. So they led their camels over the hills by another way, back to the stars.

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-42556303264622555552012-01-05T21:19:00.009-05:002012-01-07T17:55:51.292-05:00

A series of blog posts linking to the albums I uploaded during 2011 in their entirety or near-entirety & why. Matthew Fisher, Journey's End (1973) I had this on vinyl. One of the most obscure solo albums by an ex-member of major Brit rock group, whose instrumental & vocal contributions to the band's albums were immediately recognizable. The band was Procol Harum. Fisher could've pulled together

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-1220315302226132582012-01-03T16:55:00.007-05:002012-01-04T01:12:48.863-05:00

Someone shared this graphic on Facebook with the comment:  "As an American, I'm offended that this isn't done everyday in schools."   I thought, "Whoa, wait a minute, that's not true." I didn't  know other state laws, but I did know there's a law in New Jersey  requiring public schools to set aside time for the Pledge recitation, o.k. with me, & another law still on the books, that I don't like,

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-91792840672807122932012-01-02T21:02:00.001-05:002012-01-02T23:16:19.813-05:00

A former girlfriend, from 15 years ago, has had a rough Christmas. Of all my former "steadies" she's  my favorite, & I'm still quite fond of her. She was a lot younger than me & she eventually married a good guy her own age & they've been happy together for over ten years. But, wow, it was tough letting  go of her at the time. Her husband had some heart problems around Christmas, caught soon

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-28805580355429222802012-01-01T16:07:00.000-05:002012-01-01T16:07:13.290-05:00

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-63815595370644420952012-01-01T00:35:00.000-05:002012-01-01T00:35:48.781-05:00

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-48566080122671141772011-12-31T21:59:00.002-05:002011-12-31T21:59:24.138-05:00

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-72107964605028668432011-12-30T23:25:00.002-05:002011-12-31T00:27:49.258-05:00

Fooling around with few  year-end music lists; best cocktail/tiki/exotica;  albums I've uploaded to You Tube in entirety;  a Henry Mancini list. But that's old stuff & I got stuff I haven't listened to yet & one more day to qualify for a 2011 list. Book Fav lists are impossible. I keep a list of every book I read, but I rarely add a  note to remind me of why I liked or didn't it. I   liked two

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-47987691022267895542011-12-29T14:15:00.004-05:002011-12-30T02:00:09.320-05:00

URBANDALE, Iowa - Texas Gov. Rick Perry opened up a new line of criticism against President Obama today, saying he hadn't shown the proper courtesy in welcoming troops returning home from the war in Iraq. "It really disturbs me that after nine years of war in Iraq, this president wouldn't welcome our many heroes home with a simple parade in their honor," Perry said during a meet-and-greet with

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-78436880785689055762011-12-29T00:27:00.002-05:002011-12-29T01:29:39.106-05:00

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-87353512278026855802011-12-28T20:01:00.003-05:002011-12-28T20:21:36.710-05:00

I was reading the comments on a nice story about two generations of Elizabeth cops in the same family,  five in all, & the posts descended into A. Gripes about cop salaries. B. What an awful place is Elizabeth. I don't know how much cops here make, & I'm aware too many of them aren't residents of the city, & I saw a patrol officer the other day who couldn't be described as anything other than

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-7712265261742344162011-12-27T17:30:00.003-05:002011-12-28T03:37:24.096-05:00

Nice having Hanukkah & Christmas overlap this year. We were also mercifully  spared most of the "War on Christmas" crap. It should be obvious by now, especially on Black Friday, that it's a war we wage on ourselves & has nothing to do with religion or saying "Happy Holidays" as a simple courtesy to non-Christians.  Back in the 1920's & 30's anti-semites  were accusing Jews of undermining the

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-76760389487232334622011-12-26T19:34:00.009-05:002011-12-27T01:58:39.950-05:00

Christmas Eve can be a little tricky for me, emotionally. But that's largely because I've rarely had an "ideal" Christmas Eve. For a number of years my then-female cohabitant & our next-next door neighbors co-hosted small late-evening parties for local friends, all of us had earlier obligatory family functions. Small gifts were exchanged, party  food consumed & much beverage imbibed. Those

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-39284627318284775212011-12-25T12:42:00.000-05:002011-12-25T12:42:13.279-05:00

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-78695645704098544672011-12-25T09:08:00.007-05:002011-12-25T09:08:00.490-05:00

Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-29919815401800451152011-12-25T00:40:00.001-05:002011-12-25T00:43:39.996-05:00

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-48436836010160137762011-12-24T20:21:00.003-05:002011-12-25T01:12:25.043-05:00

My parents put a lot of effort into Christmas, making it quite magical, particularly when I was very young, 4, 5 years old. They had a feel for tradition & theater. Fans of Norman Rockwell or Doctor Spock, read on. Christmas Season started when dad stapled up the strings of colored lights around the front porch. A some point he added two funky giant candles he'd constructed out of cardboard

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-5702702784680581592011-12-24T09:45:00.002-05:002011-12-24T14:36:40.812-05:00

A tribute to lawn & live nativities, all of which, however kitschy or corny capture something of the magic,  mystery,  miracle,  joy & sadness.The basic tableau is so established that it is rare to find alternate interpretations.

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-26273336563946517932011-12-24T02:43:00.004-05:002011-12-24T03:12:23.804-05:00

My Christmas present this year came in form of a WFMU DJ, newly returned to staff after a long absence. requesting me as a fill-in at the suggestion of the station manager. Although I haven't done a show in a few years & my embouchure is messed up, & I look like crap, I was so tempted to sneak in & do it, except it included an hour of board op - sitting the home studio board for a remote

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-20733263288069146652011-12-23T17:08:00.010-05:002011-12-24T03:14:34.597-05:00

Christmas sneaked up this year. Have to remember to tune in Letterman tonight for the hit-the-meatball challenge with Jay Thomas, Jay's annual telling of his crazy Lone Ranger story, & the incomparable Darlene Love singing "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"  - a Phil Spectorish production that must blow about half of Letterman's music budget for the year. Mulling over some favorites, weirdests,

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-15232801901001548702011-12-22T17:15:00.014-05:002011-12-23T02:39:23.101-05:00

happened last night, makes to day the shortest day of year, then we begin inching toward March equinox. Last night a large building in the  huge old Burry Biscuit complex caught fire. A total loss of the  building, they have to let it burn &  hope it doesn't spread.  The fire   chief describes the inside as "a maze." It's over a mile east of here, with breeze blowing from west we have no smoke

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-60158176258049169732011-12-20T00:33:00.002-05:002011-12-20T22:07:56.716-05:00

I had a piano student, nice boy, his mom had been a doctor in the Soviet Union, was taking med school classes here toward her American license   while working in a meat packing plant. She used to bring me whole pastramis. I offered to accept a pastrami or corned beef every so often in lieu of money for that lesson, the meat was worth more than I charged.  She said no, she got one every week

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-74185409769622239762011-12-19T16:27:00.012-05:002011-12-20T00:12:06.677-05:00

Discrimination against same-sex marriages cannot be tolerated in our society as a matter of law By Robert Menendez Since my vote in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act 15 years ago, like tens of millions of Americans, I have reflected deeply and frequently about this issue. During this time, I have engaged in discussions about the issue of marriage equality with friends, family members,

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-83652557875014748222011-12-18T00:50:00.000-05:002011-12-18T02:54:42.821-05:00

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-19746773698182308752011-12-17T16:58:00.006-05:002011-12-17T19:53:00.598-05:00

Maggie: Waddya want, Mary? You want the moon? Just ask for the moon and I'll give it to ya. Bob: Not you, too? My annoying brother-in-law couldn't watch that movie without reciting every line of dialogue. Maggie: Hater. This movie is flawless. Bob: That's how I feel, so I told my brother-in-law to shut the hell up & watch it. * *** It's A Wonderful Life. The rage, despair & abusive behavior

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-29034211444347045992011-12-16T23:28:00.000-05:002011-12-16T23:28:46.188-05:00

World's shortest woman wants to be Bollywood star NAGPUR, India (AP) — A high school student in central India was recognized as the world's shortest woman by Guinness World Records on Friday as she turned 18 and said she hopes to earn a degree and make it in Bollywood. Jyoti Amge stood just 62.8 centimeters (24.7 inches) tall — shorter than the average 2-year-old — when Guinness

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-34259422831688991562011-12-16T21:39:00.002-05:002011-12-16T21:45:54.018-05:00

The very old Anglican Bishop of Cork  & the extremely old Roman Catholic Bishop of Cork took to their sickbeds at the same time.  Each desired  to outlive the other.  As it turned out, the very old Anglican Bishop passed on to his maker first. The Monsignors gathered around the Catholic Bishop & inquired if there was some statement he'd like to  make on the sad occasion to the Anglicans of Cork.

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-38876733350746103292011-12-15T14:25:00.004-05:002011-12-15T22:06:10.735-05:00

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces formally ended their nine-year war in Iraq on Thursday with a low key flag ceremony in Baghdad, while to the north flickering violence highlighted ethnic and sectarian strains threatening the country in years ahead. "After a lot of blood spilled by Iraqis and Americans, the mission of an Iraq that could govern and secure itself has become real," Defense Secretary

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-28643941126236344342011-12-14T23:06:00.003-05:002011-12-15T00:54:48.961-05:00

"Get Behind Me Satan and Push." 1968. The title itself was mildly  scandalous. In this building there's a crowd of guys with old familiar thoughts upon their minds. That's a lot of hands a reaching out to grab the things that I consider mine! And the president pursues me even though he's old and hair a turnin' white. Mr. Walker it's all over… I don't like the New York secretary's life!(Ten

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-66748175855647144052011-12-13T17:04:00.008-05:002011-12-14T01:42:06.573-05:00

(Reuters) - Reality TV star and property mogul Donald Trump said on Tuesday he will not moderate a planned debate among Republican presidential hopefuls after all but two candidates declined to attend. *** "I am not willing to give up my right to run as an Independent candidate," Trump said in a statement. "Therefore, so that there is no conflict of interest within the Republican Party, I have

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-55657569483213976352011-12-12T20:15:00.006-05:002011-12-13T02:01:59.025-05:00

The Learning Channel's "All-American Muslim," a reality show focusing on a group of Muslim families in Dearborn, Michigan, has been a target of the Shariah panic industry ever since it started airing. On Friday, hardware retailer Lowe's pulled their ads from the show in response to a protest campaign from the Florida Family Association. The Washington Post published the FFA's statement on why it

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-53088926997511703442011-12-11T22:43:00.000-05:002011-12-11T22:43:39.777-05:00

From the album "Hi Fi-ing Winds" (1958).

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-40732082841304491382011-12-11T00:55:00.000-05:002011-12-11T00:55:26.910-05:00

Cocktail lounge at the China Royal

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-39888891400732641062011-12-09T21:05:00.002-05:002011-12-09T23:46:52.103-05:00

Had a friendly chat with my brother Jim this afternoon. I asked, "What's so important you leave two messages on my phone?" I knew what it was about. He was offering to pick me up tomorrow & deliver me to our sister's for a birthday party for our oldest brother.  He assumed I wasn't going because I have a poor relationship with my sister. I said no that's not it. I don't feel physically up to

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-65348677631132087602011-12-08T18:31:00.012-05:002011-12-08T21:30:46.722-05:00

When Yahoo recently renovated its e mail  (asking $20 for something called Mail Extra I don't need), it didn't say it was shutting down POP service, which was taking  forwards of my AOL mail into the Yahoo box. Or maybe it was AOL that changed.  So yeah, Happy Halloween & Thanksgiving  to you, too. Received an annual Christmas e mail from old old (high school era) friend with attached PDF file I

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-70817383028521810482011-12-07T23:02:00.000-05:002011-12-07T23:02:14.860-05:00

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-86600334688852286542011-12-07T21:26:00.010-05:002011-12-08T18:13:32.932-05:00

Waiting for rain to ease up so I can walk up to the mailbox. *** My nephew messages me on Facebook that his father wants my phone number, so I should send it to my nephew.  Huh? I already have my brother's home address,  phone no, & his e mail.  Demonstrates how much we're in touch. A peculiarity of my family. Back in my later adolescence, when I resisted participating in any family gatherings,

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-37749726022284734972011-12-06T17:31:00.009-05:002011-12-07T16:35:43.657-05:00

Rutgers women's basketball team is 8-1, ranked No. 11 in the AP poll. Their first loss came  last night to No. 9 Miami, in double-overtime, after blowing a 16 point  second half lead. A game they probably would've won in regulation had it been played at Rutgers Athletic Center with Big East refs & not in Florida. They proved they deserve a top 25 ranking. The difference between this year & last

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-79065488795317778252011-12-05T14:50:00.011-05:002011-12-05T22:04:01.698-05:00

Playing with Howlin' Wolf for two decades, Hubert Sumlin was a creator of a library of fundamental electric guitar blues riffs. Any guitarists knowing their stuff learn  from Hubert  Sumlin. On his own after Wolf died,  Hubert became one of the most admired & beloved guitarists in the world. Just the other day he was named 43rd on the Rolling Stone list of the 100 Best Guitarists, but of course

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-49053200352936560982011-12-04T14:51:00.002-05:002011-12-04T15:02:19.239-05:00

Jersey fish-themed postcards is one the categories  I collect. This may be a stock  postcard image; just change the location. But' it's so artfully arranged.

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-20594579764064317232011-12-03T19:02:00.000-05:002011-12-03T19:02:32.186-05:00

From the album "African Lament" (1961).

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-73358175718795930412011-12-02T19:05:00.004-05:002011-12-03T01:44:05.082-05:00

My apt building, which I admit is a bit seedy, goes through up & down periods. It's a down period now.There's some really disreputable acting tenants here, & I strongly suspect a couple of recent arrivals  are total pigs. There's a  tenant now who walks around with a prison stare permanently stamped on his face,  meant to communicate that everyone is merely an object to him. It looks authentic. 

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-4656677546115989702011-12-01T21:29:00.001-05:002011-12-01T21:30:07.925-05:00

everything else is a bonus."  Herman Cain, book inscription to his alleged mistress"I was so far ahead of the pack, the crowd had to run after me with torches to show me the finish line." Herman Munster

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-59800271428559846222011-11-30T15:51:00.008-05:002011-11-30T23:25:14.172-05:00

On Being Blog posted this quote today: “If it is art — if it is honest to God, card-carrying, well done, well-crafted, well-honed art — it comes up so sweetly against the side of religion that they are essentially kissing each other. We can’t escape the fact that somehow the religion is concerned with the subjective world, as is art. And they share a territory that somehow circumvents or

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-22174353188525252242011-11-29T16:44:00.012-05:002011-11-30T01:56:35.693-05:00

Herman Cain appears to be contemplating an end to his presidential campaign. Democrats aren't the ones mainly fueling Cain's sexual harassment  & extra-marital affair problems; that's genuine news,  it's all on the record. Anyway, it's hard to believe America would take an immediate second chance on an unfamiliar African-American, much less  a former  czar of crappy pizza,  with no elected

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-15389346601343833202011-11-28T00:18:00.005-05:002011-11-28T00:52:30.673-05:00

Caritas Australia Advent Calendar Caritas is a Catholic aid & development agency. Busted Halo Surprise Advent Calendar Busted Halo is a general spirituality website. This calendar features videos. Trinity Church Wall Street Advent Calendar The annual calendar of the  Episcopal Church in the USA. Teaching Mom's Advent Calendar Although designed for home schoolers, it doesn't seem to have much

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-76607546783366346892011-11-27T14:43:00.009-05:002011-11-27T23:38:45.711-05:00

Matthew 22:17, the famous "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's" encounter, is not about paying taxes. Jesus is saying, "I'm trying to explain something important & all you do is show me your stupid money." The Synoptic Gospels have many stories like this. "I'm trying to explain something important & all you do is ask me how to join the club." "I'm trying to explain something

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-2134478297104820292011-11-27T00:04:00.001-05:002011-11-27T01:10:53.439-05:00

Parker Motel An archetypal  mainland Jersey shore motel from before the construction of the Garden State Parkway. Beware, traveler.  Looks like it might be breezy & cool at night, & a bargain compared to boardwalk town motels, but in reality  the pinelands only a few miles inland from the bays are miserably hot & swarming with mosquitoes.

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-5992435347228416732011-11-26T16:48:00.001-05:002011-11-26T16:54:34.102-05:00

It's great to reside in a Christian nation (so we're told) where Republican presidential candidates are  booed by Republicans for even implying they aren't completely heartless bastards. In the land of Republicans the cruelest candidates are also the most Christian.

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-13672249212477247912011-11-25T18:31:00.007-05:002011-11-26T00:06:17.703-05:00

Rioting over a $2 waffle iron. A customer pepper-sprays her competition for an X-box. Midnight lines outside Victoria's Secret (Santa's elf chemises on sale?). Don't give me a waffle iron for Christmas. If retail stores are so desperate, & consumers so desperate, why do this only on Black Friday? We created this season. It isn't Christmas, so let's not lament the loss of some Norman Rockwell

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-77148477272380594842011-11-24T19:31:00.005-05:002011-11-25T02:12:59.351-05:00

I am thankful to be alive. I am thankful for Gina nearby & for her cats;  for Gail & Melodi & Sheron & Barbara at a distance;  for X-Ray Burns' & Joe Renna's phone #s on my cell; for knowing some wonderful writers who consider me their peer;  for being treated as a functioning staffer at WFMU through a long sabbatical. I'm grateful for all the dedicated music bloggers who make available rips of

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-29549461943171406282011-11-24T08:58:00.001-05:002011-11-24T12:53:00.045-05:00

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-15373357395711641012011-11-23T18:04:00.014-05:002011-11-24T13:49:34.438-05:00

Question from Facebook friend: How will RP Panthers do against Roselle tomorrow? Still 10:30 a.m. (or so) game? Home or away? My reply: I haven't the slightest idea. I'm from Balikpapan, Borneo. Oops, changed it to Blackpool, England. (After I began receiving friend requests from Borneo.) I haven't been to a Roselle Park football game since the Thanksgiving the season after I graduated high

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-20255917982975692222011-11-23T00:17:00.004-05:002011-11-23T16:02:36.723-05:00

I probably would've voted for Matt Kemp of the Dodgers by a hair over Ryan Braun of the Brewers as National League MVP. They were really close. Braun won.  Braun had the pressure of a divisional race. Kemp had the pressure of a mediocre team with an owner having serious legal problems. It was rumored several times during the season that the Dodgers wouldn't make their payroll. Yet the Dodgers

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-51753181901546242042011-11-22T22:54:00.001-05:002011-11-22T22:57:31.691-05:00

From the Indian TV show, Are You Ready? I wasn't quite ready for this.

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-24324121040862934392011-11-21T20:19:00.008-05:002011-11-22T01:18:28.492-05:00

Occupy ought to give this cop an award for providing the movement's first original iconic image. In addition to Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, so far he's been photo-shopped pepper spraying our Founding Fathers, Disney characters, Jesus in Da Vinci's The Last Supper,  small  aliens from Star Wars, & the Cowardly Lion at the door of the Emerald City.  This man is

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-18234384262123974682011-11-20T00:17:00.001-05:002011-11-20T18:57:43.519-05:00

The men in line are smiling like they have high expectations for the food, but the cooks look like they know the truth.

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-24437787403566664702011-11-19T13:29:00.008-05:002011-11-21T15:53:02.964-05:00

“This country does in fact have a serious deficit problem. But the reality is that the deficit was caused by two wars — unpaid for. It was caused by huge tax breaks for the wealthiest people in this country. It was caused by a recession as result of the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior on Wall Street. And if those are the causes of the deficit, I will be damned if we’re going to balance

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-68479531684033359162011-11-18T17:50:00.004-05:002011-11-18T19:04:52.479-05:00

If a person is habitually contemptuous of others; of their lifestyles, their spiritual beliefs, their political views, their economic status, of course others will pick up on it & figure they're targets when they aren't around. I knew someone who put down her friend's new age spirituality, refused  to try & understand it. The friend was really into it, attended weekend meditation retreats, a

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-68550640849262329102011-11-15T16:54:00.010-05:002011-11-16T23:21:39.647-05:00

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wearing helmets and wielding batons, New York police evicted Occupy Wall Street protesters from a park early on Tuesday, two months after they set up camp and sparked a national movement against economic inequality. Hundreds of police dismantled the sea of tents, tarps, outdoor furniture, mattresses and protests signs at Zuccotti Park, arresting 147 people, including about a

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-14494937224998020072011-11-14T21:29:00.003-05:002011-11-14T23:39:26.564-05:00

Sources: FBI joins criminal investigation into abuse allegations against Elizabeth school board ELIZABETH — A criminal investigation into allegations of abuses within the Elizabeth Board of Education has been joined by federal prosecutors, according to two school district employees, who say they were questioned by the FBI. The two, who filed a lawsuit two weeks ago to halt an internal

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-57599214395099646382011-11-13T00:15:00.002-05:002011-11-13T02:24:17.928-05:00

Life at Camp Dix, N.J."These animals are well bred in table etiquette.."

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-13595241739001916692011-11-12T14:45:00.008-05:002011-11-13T04:22:55.903-05:00

It's very gratifying on my birthday to receive not only birthday greetings, but to have among those greetings expressions of respect  from people  I consider my peers (or betters) as a poet, blogger, &  DJ-on-hiatus still involved in excavating forgotten & obscure recorded music. It's a strange thing about some people who disrespect you, that they think you don't realize you're being

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-67512207509650821572011-11-11T18:02:00.001-05:002011-11-13T04:21:46.953-05:00

This song often tempted me to adopt it as an opening theme for my late night WFMU shows, the ones that ran to 2 or 3 am. But I rarely felt like an Ole Night Owl at the start of the programs (although I usually did by the end), & I didn't want to telegraph the same mood every week. Even when I used music by Nino Rota from "The Clowns," which I did for years,  the mood depended upon where I chose

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-24382019514487518812011-11-11T16:08:00.005-05:002011-11-13T04:22:19.266-05:00

My birthday. I'm grateful for having been born on Armistice Day - now Veterans Day. As a kid, I had the day off  from school, or one close to it. Birthdays were celebrated modestly in my family, & always the same for everyone: ice cream & cake for dessert after supper, the happy birthday song, a few presents. When I got older I began considering the influence the day had on me, Armistice Day (

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-32122322316286501922011-11-10T19:54:00.009-05:002011-11-11T02:16:39.649-05:00

College basketball season is beginning, the baseball hot stove is heating up, & until there are more sordid revelations I have little more to say about Penn State. But here's how I respond to those defending Joe Paterno on the grounds that he did what was legally required [& no more]. I say, terrific, now you've pulled Paterno down to the level of a college coach plausibly denying he knew alumni

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5297282.post-9023301181213125522011-11-10T00:06:00.013-05:002011-11-10T18:52:59.891-05:00

Paterno, president out in Penn State abuse scandal STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Famed U.S. college football coach Joe Paterno and the president of Penn State University were fired on Wednesday over allegations that a former assistant coach sexually abused young boys for years. "Graham Spanier is no longer president of the university," John Surma, vice chairman of trustees, told a

Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16567817295665099690noreply@blogger.com1