Beatles Day is Coming

I was watching the Yankees game this afternoon and they were winning in the 8th inning.  They then proceeded to lose the game.  Let's talk about something that is better than that disgrace of a Yankees game--the fact that on September 9th of this year Beatles fans (of which I am one) will be sent to their local music/video game stores and will be asked to spend literally hundreds of dollars.  Despite the recession I guarantee you that a large percentage of those fans will be happy to spend their money because they will be receiving the most significant Beatles releases certainly since the days of The Beatles Anthology.  There are three items to come out that day:  1) a Beatles Rock Band video game; 2) remastered stereo versions of all of the group's studio albums (and the Past Masters collections) that will be sold individually and in a box set with bonus material; and 3) a box set with the mono versions of those albums.  For Beatles fans the idea of being able to listen to the group's music in a remastered format is a major thing. The majority of Beatles CD's available for listening have not been remastered since they were released in the late 1980's.  Technology has improved drastically since that time and other major artists have re-released their work in remastered form.  Perhaps no other artist in music history is worth spending so much money on.  I will conclude this entry with a lame use of a Beatles lyric:  Money can't buy me love but it can buy me an improved listening experience.  Yes--that was a stupid thing to say, but then again I don't know if anyone is even reading this blog!  

The New Music Industry

I just want to take a moment to share a couple of thoughts on a subject that I have been thinking about for quite some time now.  For those of you who don't know, I am a huge music fan and have a CD collection of over 600 CD's that span a variety of genres.  Also...full disclosure:  I own an Iphone and an Ipod, even though I don't use the Iphone for music but instead just use it for its phone, e-mail, web browsing and application features.  The reason I gave that disclosure is because I am now going to make a statement that you may be unlikely to hear from an Apple fan:  ITunes has partially ruined the music industry.  CD sales are drastically down, record stores are going out of business and it's all because digital sales have become the dominant way in which people buy music.  This is not necessarily a bad thing if one is listening to a single from an artist that may not release an album worthy of being bought. The problem is, as any serious music fan knows, that there are many albums out there that should be listened to in their entirety.  Downloading a song from an album is not the same as going and buying the album, holding it in your hands and listening to it the whole way through. This is why I am glad that The Beatles music is not currently on ITunes (although I do wonder how much longer that will be the case).  Downloading one song from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band or Abbey Road will never give someone the same and complete listening experience that hearing the album straight through will do.  Albums are sometimes considered art forms, and that is what ITunes has ruined.  Too often now songs will be looked at as individual entities (which is fine) but they will not be looked at as being part of a larger album that in and of itself is a work of art.  OK--enough for now....

Sports Gambling in New Jersey

I have received another request from a loyal reader as to what I should write about on this blog. The topic is whether sports gambling should be legalized in New Jersey. As far as I know, Nevada is the only place in the country where one can actually go and make a bet on a sporting event. There is certainly talk in New Jersey about making it legal to bet on sporting events and I am completely in favor of it for two reasons that immediately come to mind. First of all, New Jersey, like many other states, is suffering a financial crisis the likes of which have not been seen in quite some time. Allowing people to bet on sporting events would increase revenue and bolster the state's finances. Second, efforts are being made to turn Atlantic City into an East Coast version of Las Vegas. While improvements to hotels have been made, Las Vegas is still light years ahead of Atlantic City. For a gambler, one of the appeals that Las Vegas has over Atlantic City is that one is able to bet on sporting events while in Las Vegas but cannot do so in Atlantic City. If Atlantic City is going to be an equal to Las Vegas, the betting opportunities have to be the same. Those are my thoughts for today.

Opening Day is Near

Hello everyone.  Let me tell you--I love sports.  I grew up watching different sports and get great enjoyment out of watching a game.  I feel very fortunate to have been in attendance at some legendary games.  Even though football is my favorite sport, there is no moment of any sports season that I like more than Opening Day for Major League Baseball.  I guess the reason I feel that way is because it is a sign that spring is definitely here and the weather is warming up.  Also, I love the game of baseball and knowing that it is now something I am able to follow on a daily basis is exciting.  For those of you who do not know, I am a Yankees fan.  I am not one of those Yankees fans that hates the Mets.  The only baseball team that I am absolutely not a fan of at all is the Red Sox.  If any Yankees fan is a fan of the Red Sox they aren't, well....a Yankees fan.  I'm not saying I actively root for the Mets--I don't.  What I am saying though is that I am not opposed to the Mets doing well and I am disappointed that the past two seasons have ended in disgrace for a team that seem destined for the playoffs in each of those seasons.  New York baseball fans are fortunate in that this year there are two new stadiums to visit.  I am going on the record here, on this blog that has a grand total of 40 viewers after several months, in saying that I am more excited for the Mets new stadium, Citi Field, than I am for the new Yankee stadium.  How could this be?  I'll explain it like this:  1) I was a fan of the old Yankee Stadium and while I do think renovations needed to be made I am not pleased that a stadium that gave me so many great memories is no longer open; 2) one of the things I didn't like about the old Yankee Stadium was the traffic and difficulty getting there, combined with a lousy parking situation, and the new Yankee Stadium seems to do nothing to alleviate those things; 3) whereas I liked the old Yankee Stadium I thought that Shea Stadium was horrible and that other than looking at the second base/shallow center field area and realizing that The Beatles performed in that vicinity there was no reason to keep the stadium around...therefore, Citi Field is a dramatic improvement in a stadium that is much greater than the improvement seen at the new Yankee Stadium; and 4) something really annoys me about a general sense of arrogance on the part of the Yankees management to charge what seems like $1,000,000 a ticket per game....now Mets tickets are expensive too, but the Yankees seem to have prices that are out of this world.  Look--I am excited for the new Yankee Stadium.  It does look amazing and seems to have amenities that other ballparks don't offer.  I'm just saying that Citi Field is such a major and dramatic improvement over Shea Stadium and clearly was needed, whereas the new Yankee Stadium may not be as necessary.  It does also seem bizarre to see so much money being spent on stadiums while our country faces a recession.  That's a whole other story though...play ball!  

Academy Awards Thoughts

I resolve to post on this blog with greater frequency. That is my promise to my readers (if there are any). I was planning on writing about this whole steroids mess that seems to be back in the baseball headlines but instead will turn this entry's focus to last night's Academy Awards broadcast. Now look--I love movies. I go almost once a week to the movies and you can imagine that for me, the Oscars are one of the highlights of the year because I, along with other movie fans, get to see which films and people associated with them take home the top prizes. I have to say that last night's show was not good at all. First let me say that none of my criticisms in this blog entry are directed at the host, Hugh Jackman. He is an immensely talented individual who did a great job last night. The problem was that he didn't seem to be used as much as other hosts and some of the skits which were well-intended came across as too long or just too awkward. Jackman is still one of my favorite entertainers because he is so diverse in his abilities: he can act, sing and dance. Here were the main problems with last night's show: 1) when the acting awards were given out you had previous award recipients speak about this year's nominees, the result being that we saw absolutely no film clips for the nominees and were forced to watch mini-inaugural addresses for each nominee; 2) the big production numbers went on for way too long and were too hectic and fast-paced to be truly enjoyable; 3) the nightclub setting didn't quite work and as a result you had certain guests sitting close to the stage while the rest of the audience seemed to be a mile away (nothing like having even more elitism during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression); and 4) the show seeemed to last.....way....too...long. Yes, I know there are many awards to give out but let's keep the show moving! I will say that I predicted 17 of the categories correctly and only got 7 wrong, so that was a highlight for me. I will keep watching the Academy Awards but they need to improve!

Nothing Like a Little Stimulation

It's Sunday night.  Like many Americans, I like to spend my Sunday nights relaxing and tonight is no exception.  I write this while I am relaxing on my couch watching the Grammy Awards.  However, my thoughts, like those of many citizens, are on the economy and the fact that we are experiencing an economic downturn unlike any in recent years.  Much of the recent talk with regard to the economy has focused on the stimulus package that Congress is debating.  One thing that is very clear to me is that Congress needs to pass a stimulus package.  History has shown that in times of great economic trouble an active government is necessary to get the country moving again (think F.D.R. and the New Deal).  Much of what is contained in the current stimulus plan (both the House and Senate versions) is directly related to job creation and putting people back to work.  However, what I am opposed to is spending in any stimulus plan that is "pork" spending.  This is not a time to advance an agenda--this is a time to get the economy back on track.  I commend President Obama for meeting with Republicans and am dismayed that getting some type of stimulus plan passed seems to be so difficult.  The Republican opposition to the stimulus plan was largely based on the belief that there were not enough tax cuts in the plan.  However, this is the basic flaw with Republican economic policies.  Tax cuts alone are not the answer.  If tax cuts worked, we wouldn't be in this economic mess.  What is needed is a combination of tax cuts combined with spending to foster job creation.  Let's pass some type of stimulus and get this country moving again.  

How Could This Movie Be Snubbed?

If you are a major movie fan like me you are inevitably annoyed at what films get nominated for Academy Awards and which ones do not. Now I must admit to my readers (hopefully there are more than four) that I have not seen several of the heavily nominated movies. I don't really have an interest in Benjamin Button and I am hoping to see The Wrestler this weekend. However, I did recently see Gran Torino and must tell you that I loved that film. Why did I feel so strongly about the movie? Well, let's see: 1) the storyline was powerful--to see Clint Eastwood's character change from a racist individual to someone who shows compassion towards those he once disliked is extremely gripping (and I won't say any more, at the risk of leaking spoilers); 2) the acting is phenomenal; and 3) the film caused the audience to have many emotions--happiness, sadness, anger being some of them. Yes I know that Clint Eastwood has won at the Academy Awards before but I hope that the Oscar nominating process did not snub him this time around because he has already experienced the joy of winning in the past.