Monday, September 6, 2021

Labor Day Finds

Ricky Reynolds, the lead guitar player for Black Oak Arkansas  passed away from kidney failure and a heart attack on Sunday.  He was 72.  He was in a Memphis hospital since early August.  Willard Scott, famed weatherman for Today show after a long illness on Saturday, he was 87.


(Getty pictures: Credit) 

The World Naked Bike Ride in Madison had a few of the NRA folks joining in,  the first ride that had somebody waving flags through the bike ride which irked a few folks and then of course, Joan Downs wrote yet another complaint letter to the newspaper saying how in poor taste the newspapers continue to show naked folk going up and down Madison

As an abuse survivor, I try diligently to avoid the World Naked Bike Ride. But the Wisconsin State Journal puts it photographs of the event online where everyone -- even children -- can see them.

I thought the State Journal considered itself "family friendly." 

The event organizers refer to their ride as a method of expression. Their framing of it this way is enabled by Madison's law enforcement not taking any action against the nude participants. Yet this same law enforcement does not seem to hesitate in issuing a fine to a single naked person or a woman whose breasts are uncovered.

While I would not be comfortable in either instance, the actions or inactions of Madison law enforcement -- and I use the next word intentionally -- expose the differences in standards for dealing with different people or groups.

I believe Madison law enforcement should hold the participants of this event accountable for their actions, as it does when a single person is involved.

Joan Downs, Madison

What Joan doesn't get is that the Madison police does coordinate this and they do their job to keep the naked riders on the approved roads for this event.  Therefore, the only action they need to do is make sure nobody goes off course butt naked, then they get arrested for indecent exposure.   Of course, every event like WNBR will have the Joan's out bitching and mowing about naked people.  I've done the WNBR for three years and didn't see any of the bike riders being abused  or body shamed at the point where people undressed.  And the hosts of these were always first class and made sure nobody got abused.  It's a one day, two hour bike ride event.  It's no orgy.  I had my fun doing this, but I doubt that I'll be riding around Madison in my birthday suit any more.    And there'll be self righteous folks like Ms. Downs bitching and moaning.   Don't be a Joan.









Football season has started and Iowa came roaring out of the gate, blowing Indiana off the field 34-6 but the highlight was poor Dave Holloman having the misspelled state on his jersey, to which he was spared of any more embarrassment.  Mike Penix had a bad game, throwing for 3 interceptions to which Riley Moss took one 30 yards for a pick six. Tyler Goodson went for 99 yards, including a 56 yard TD run. Moss would add another pick six for 55 yards.  Indiana, ranked 17th never got going and Penix was finally taken out in the fourth quarter.   Nobody did expect Moss would score more points than the Hoosier offense.  Next up for Indiana, a home game with Idaho, for the Hawkeyes, a rumble in Ames with the Cyclones who barely got by Northern Iowa 16-10.




We have talked about the gutted Chicago Cubs and trading away just about everybody from the 2016 WS Champion season, but the Cubs are now on a seven game winning streak, sweeping Minnesota and then Pittsburgh over the weekend.  The days of Rizzo, Bryant and Baez were replaced by Frank Schwingel, Patrick Wisdom and Raffy Ortega, the first two hitting home runs and driving in winning runs.  Even Ian Happ has gotten his batting average above the Mendoza line (a robust .211 at this writing). Matt Duffy hitting two home runs on Sunday and even Jason Heyward is now bopping at .213 BA. Alfonso Rivas has been a spark plug coming off the bench as well as Mike Hermosillo, who could develop into something special if Old Man Ross puts him in the lineup.  The liabilities remain poor starting pitching, (nobody seems to go back five innings, Davies and Hendricks hot-cold streaks) but the bullpen is starting to hold the other teams back.  But the way the Cubs battled back against last place Pittsburgh after being down has shown the new Cubbies have no quit in them.  They still strike out way too much (Sergio Alcantana, Wisdom and the newly  departed Andrew Romaine) but I love the fight that the Cubs continue to show.  We certainly didn't expect them to win 7 games in a row this late in the season, but we are enjoying the ride. 



Frank Schwindel is the second player in the Expansion Era to have a go-ahead RBI in the 6th or later in four straight games. The other was Orlando Cepeda in 1967.

Interesting fact: Cubs have used 38 people for pitching this season, including four position players. Eric Sogard on multiple games, who is no longer around.
 
Labor day, and Goodwill and Salvation Army and a few thrift stores were opened today.   If you were in Moline at the CO OP, you could have said hi to Richie Ramone and Corey Glover popping in to sign autographs and chat for a while.  For myself, I stayed in town and found some things at Half Price Books.  

CD's

On The Soul Side 2 (Time Life)
Delbert McClinton-Genuine Rhythm And The Blues (Hip O)

45's

Downtown-Mrs. Miller (Capitol 5640)  #82 1966
Hurt-Timi Yuro (Liberty F-55343)  #4  1961
Na-Ne-No-Troy Shondell (Liberty F-55445)  1962
Lie To Me-Brook Benton (Mercury 72024)  #13 1962
Echoes From The Burning Bush-Carl Story (Mercury 70687) 1955


(Wikipedia photo) 

I have a FB friend, Pam that works at Czech Village Antiques in CR and in usual senile frame of mind called her a different name, I thought she was Ann.  She is a nice elderly lady who follows my usual rant and raving about nothing there but I popped up to her place just before closing and asked if she had any scratchy 45's laying around.  Oh, they had tons of albums but I simply didn't have time to go through them.  There was a weaved basket and I basically bought four of them just for the sake of being nice.  Echoes From The Burning Bush is not even listed on 45 Cat. Carl Story has been more toward Bluegrass Gospel (best known hit was Family Reunion).   Echoes, is a very good bluegrass number and Carl Story is one of the best if not the best of the gospel bluegrass singers. By The Hands Of God, another great call and response gospel number, easy to sing along.   It's been a while since I found any Brook Benton music but Lie To Me continues his modern sounds in country music with Shelby Singleton and Jerry Kennedy watching over the proceedings and Margie Singleton co wrote Lie To Me with Brook. The Troy Shondell Na Ne No song is interesting for Phil Spector producing, a bridge between the wall of sound and girl group vocal but this is stripped down even with Spector's standards.   To which the record didn't chart.  I always mess up Timi Yuro's name (I do recall putting down her single Down In The Valley, a record I originally had back in Lincoln Ill, in the early childhood years on a blog but Blogspot can't seem to locate it) , that record wasn't part of the famed Grandma's Ambrose box of 45s to keep me out of trouble.  Hurt might have been part of the box of records, but this record seemed to be in playable shape. 

As for the Mrs. Miller 45, that was another mercy buy I suppose, tho it was 5 dollars.  Elva Miller did put out three albums for Capitol but Downtown seems to be the only 45 released.  B side Lover's Concerto, will drive anybody crazy.  Fact was I never seen this 45 before.  Usually the Half Price 45 section always have the pickers destroy the record sleeves when they don't put them back right.  To the memory of Mrs. Elva Miller, we'll raise a glass and give her a cheer for her attempt to sing these songs, but in the end, neither Petula Clark or The Toys didn't lose sleep over these cover songs. 


(Sports Illustrated: Photo)  

Five Star Mud Game- Cleveland 52 New York 20  12/12/64  Yankee Stadium

Tittle's Last Stand.

The 1964 NY Giants bombed bigly after coming up short in the 1963 Championship with the Bears and were picked to return to the playoffs but time and age caught up and they only won 2 games that fateful year.  If anything the Giants were number 1 in mud bowl games played that season, including one of the top five all time Mud Bowl, a 10 10 tie with the Cardinals on a rain swept Sportsman's Park (or Original Busch Stadium)  and Minnesota winning 30-21 before Cleveland came a calling'.  Andy Robustelli, Frank Gifford and Y A Tittle would be playing their last game on a wet n rainy day. Frank Ryan threw for 5 TD passes (Two to Ernie Green).  Tittle did throw a TD pass to Dick James for a brief 7-3 lead. The difference may have been Sam Huff traded to Washington and without him clogging up the field, Cleveland kept running down the field.  Tittle would have more mud of his uniform than most of the lineman, due to running out of bounds into plenty of mud on the sidelines.  Most of the time, plenty of Cleveland defense guys coming back to wish Tittle a happy retirement time and time again. He finished 10/15 in passes for 93 yards and one interception.  Gary Wood would replace him and and made the score not so lopsided including the final scoring play to Aaron Thomas before time ran out and the bored New York crowd stormed the field and knocked down the goalpost in typical New York Fashion.  Lou Groza, hall of fame kicker, missed three field goals which would have made the outcome more dominant.  The Brownies did have 407 total yard, and the Giants a respectable 339 yards but they had six fumbles (lost two) in lieu of Tittle's two INTs.  In previous seasons, Cleveland came up short, including losing three times in 1958 to the G men and then the Giants blew them out 33-6 for the chance to play the Bears.  This time out, with the up and coming Browns better and the Giants getting older, The Browns dominated and would go on to shut out Don Shula's Baltimore Colts 27-0 for the championship.   In the future, New York and Cleveland would play a few more mud games before the 60s were over and done.  Somehow the picture of Tittle throwing this pass and seeing the lopsided score in front of him simply got him sinking deep in the muck.


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