Big Blue Huddle

I mentioned a while back that I've been watching reruns of an old TV series called Tales of Tomorrow, which ran from 1951-1953. It's really low budget, generally only three or four actors in each episode. But the show often features episodes based on stories from noted authors which includes H.G. Wells and Arthur C. Clarke. One of the coolest things about watching this is picking out actors I recognize, which honestly isn't too many. However one I recently watched, titled Ice From Space,  starred Raymond Bailey (Milburn Drysdale from Beverly Hillbillies), and a young Paul Newman in just his second IMDB-documented acting role.

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on February 26, 2023, 09:18:09 PM 

I'm still hoping you'll come around, Lenn! LOL
Yankees, Giants, Knicks, Rangers, and apple pie - it's as American as a New Yorker can get  

While I completely agree with you Ric I think it would be a cold day in hell before Len does. 

Very nice Len. You'll get used to streaming very quickly. I agree with Ric, 8-tracks, cassettes, Betamax/VHS...all of them.

We moved on from our land line to strictly cell phones over 15 years ago despite my wife's protestations, and now she could never imagine going back. I would be willing to bet your wife would feel the same in a short amount of time. IMO there is no good reason to be tied to a wire.

I watched the first of three seasons of Sneaky Pete on Prime Video. Enjoyed it. Probably wrote about it in this thread a couple years ago or more. I should probably go back to it to see how it ends.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5011816/

Also, I watched the Brit murder fiction series called "The Fall" back when it was on Netflix. It was also good and quite intense. Starring Gillian Anderson.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294189/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on February 12, 2023, 11:49:02 AMPart Two:

My oldest daughter was turning 25 and had gone through a rather brutal divorce. When she turned 18, I took her to Paris and then Israel for a week. Anyway, she was (and is) my gifted daughter in the music world...although my youngest son is a gifted guitarist and can still play piano. A friend of mine told me about an upcoming concert at the Binghamton Community Forum where there was going to be a celebration of Motown music performed by past members of some groups like the Temptations and The Four Tops, etc. She said she had sold out of tickets for the VIP lounge for the after party, but told me where it was going to be. So for my daughter's 25th birthday, I got two tickets to the show. She loved it and they were fantastic

We then went to the restaurant/bar where the post party was to be held, but most of the area was roped off for the VIP crowd. Every small table that wasn't in the VIP section already had people seated in them, and the only table left was a large table that could seat 10 people. That was awkward, but my daughter and I sat down there anyway and ordered a couple of drinks. Twenty minutes later that group of singers came in and the crowd clapped. They were invited into the VIP section where they shook hands and thanked the people there. As they got through the crowd, they were invited to sit in a designated area. One of them spoke up and said, "why don't we just sit there at that big table...there's more room". The waitress told them that they were supposed to sit at the designated area. One guy said, "screw that, we're sitting at that big table". So they came over to the table that my daughter and I were sitting. I got up and said, "no problem, we'll move". One of the guys said, "nonsense, you sit right there"...so I said, "well...okay, you sure" and they all said, "absolutely". So we spent the next hour listening to them talk back and forth and they asked us a bunch of questions and made us feel completely at home

People in the VIP area looked at us with glares that said, "who the hell do you think you are?" One of those people in the VIP area was John Covelli who got up and came over the table to talk with a couple of them. When he got to me I said, "I remember you". His face lit up and asked me how. I said, "I came to your house a few years ago to look at your piano". His face went from smiling/happy to a big frown and said, "oh yeah, I remember you too - you didn't take my piano". I said, "after looking things over, my wife and I decided it was too big for our living room". He said (quite angrily I might add), "that is no excuse. That was the biggest bargain you would have ever gotten in your life...". His wife stepped in between us and told him to calm down. I smiled and said, "believe me, if it wasn't so large, I would've bought it", and again he replied, "you made a huge mistake". His wife then led him back to the VIP section and one of the guys at the table laughed and asked me what that was all about. I told them the story and they all laughed

As we were getting ready to leave, one of the singers grabbed my daughter's hand and told her she was beautiful and wished she would stay. He then hugged her and gave a kiss on the cheek and whispered in her ear. She looked shocked and then laughed and told him thank you. I asked her, "what was that about?" She told me that if she get rid of that old guy she was with, she could meet him back at the hotel. She whispered back, "that's my Dad and he brought me to the concert for my birthday, but thanks anyway"

Nothing in the world could have cheered up my daughter than getting hit on by some famous singer. We still laugh about it years later

Very cool stories Ric!!

I remember my mom being devastated when Covelli left Binghamton, she never missed a symphony at BU. My brother is a long time musician/pianist and piano instructor, and has been very well connected within the music scene in the triple cities for decades. It wouldn't surprise me if he knows Covelli personally.

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on February 09, 2023, 02:18:09 PMImpressive. I remember that SNL skit well...LOL..."Roxanne...". Reminds me of "Only Murders in the Building" scene with Sting and Martin Short are in an elevator together and Sting complains about Short's dog touching his leg and Short tells his dog, "Don't stand so close to Sting"...LOL

If you live in Binghamton and love classic rockers, you should get to know Tommy Shiptenko. Really nice guy. Ask him to show you his collection of autographed pictures. There are hundreds of them. It will shock you. It's worth millions. My favorite one is a poster sized picture of all four Beatles laying on their backs in a boxing ring (signed by each) while Mohammed Ali is standing over them with a mean face like he just knocked them out. It's even more interesting because Ali signed it too, and he signed it "Cassius Clay"

That's quite a collection, but we've been living in California for the past ten years.

I don't remember the name Tommy Shiptenko, but my memory being what it is I've likely heard of him a long time ago and just forgotten.

I have been very fortunate to meet many veteran classic rockers over the years. I have met Alan Parsons on several occasions. I had dinner with him, his wife Lisa, and another couple one evening. And another time my wife and I were invited up to his hotel suite for lunch while in Sparks, Nevada. I also took a very compromising picture of Alan and Lisa in bed together à la Lennon and Yoko, as a joke, after the luncheon.

I've met Todd Rundgren. In fact my wife and I shared an elevator ride with him, (just the three of us), one evening in Syracuse. I had all I could do to keep from going all Kevin Nealon on him, (think SNL skit with Nealon and Sting).

At an after show party I once walked up to the late John Entwistle, who was sitting on a couch between two beautiful women. As I approached him he looked up at me with a look that said, "you've got to be kidding." I read it correctly and just turned and walked away, so I guess that doesn't really count.

One evening in Pennsylvania I met and spoke at length with Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone of the Zombies. That same evening my wife met Al Stewart, (Year of the Cat), and got his autograph.

I hung out one evening at an after show party, with Joey Molland of Badfinger. Couldn't have been a nicer guy. As we were talking he asked me if I wanted a beer. I said sure, I'll get us a couple. He insisted on getting them himself, and when he returned with two Heinekens and realized they needed an opener, he went and found us one, and we stood talking for nearly an hour while drinking our beers.

I once sat at a table of 8 or 10 people along with Denny Laine, (Moody Blues and Wings), as he regaled us with stories of life on the road and in the studio with Paul and Linda McCartney.

Also met and shook hands with Christopher Cross, Mark Farner (Grand Funk), David Pack (Ambrosia), Jack Bruce (Cream), Chester Thompson (Genesis), Ian Bairnson and Stuart Elliott (Alan Parsons Project), and Andrew Latimer and Colin Bass (Camel). Perhaps others I've since forgotten.

Ric, that's a very cool story about meeting Gerry Goffin, what a thrill that would have been. Of course I've heard of him and many of the songs he and Carole King wrote. And meeting him in Binghamton of all places. I'm trying to remember where Anthony's was. Was it on the southside? Or perhaps in or near the Northgate plaza? I'm drawing a blank, although I'm quite sure I've eaten there before.

What the hell?!?!?

Lately I've been watching, on Tubi, some of the old mystery/sci-fi tv shows from the 50's such as One Step Beyond, and Tales of Tomorrow. These originally aired before my time, but were the type of show I probably would've watched had I been a young teen back then. Tonight I watched a couple episodes of Tales of Tomorrow (from 1951). One of the episodes was titled "The Crystal Egg," originally written as a short story by H.G. Wells. Apparently he wrote it the same year that he wrote War of the Worlds, and it may actually have been the prequel to the classic novel. As it plays out you realize it's a tale of Martians remotely watching life on earth.

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on January 30, 2023, 09:12:14 AMI agree with you guys that Lenn's list is more groundbreaking. But I have a question, "Do you think All in the Family" would fly today? I don't think any major producer would pick the show up in this political environment

I might add the "The Smothers Brothers Show" as a television show that changed things after their show was cancelled for political reasons for the first time in TV land, i.e., "...the brothers' penchant for material that was critical of the political mainstream and sympathetic to the emerging counterculture - in particular angst about the Vietnam War, caused CBS to abruptly pull the plug on the show." ( The brothers sued CBS for breach of contract, and won, BTW). Since those days, late night shows (and others) make ridiculing political figures and ideas a standard repertoire of comedy routines

Yes I do think All in the Family would have a hard time making it to television today. And yeah, The Smothers Brothers Show also has a place on the list. I think in many ways The Smothers Brothers Show, which debuted a few years before AitF, highlighted  many of the same controversies as AitF, but in a format that made the network executives uncomfortable enough to pull the plug on it. I know AitF was pulled in great ratings but I don't remember what Nielsen had to say about Tom and Dick.

I think your list would be a better representation of ground-breaking shows Len, hard to argue with any of them. I'd be tempted to also add one of the Steven Bocho series, probably Hill Street Blues, to the list.

Quote from: MightyGiants on January 20, 2023, 10:29:33 AMIt really depends on their vaccinations and boosters as well as their health and other underlying conditions.  You can be feeling better in just a few days or it can take longer.   As a general rule, it's 5 days of isolation and if the fever is gone and the symptoms are significantly better then you can go out but with a mask on.

Thanks Rich. Regarding our son, he's 40, fully vaxed and boosted, and in good health with no known underlying conditions - he regularly runs 5k, 10k, and half marathons. I suspect that by early next week he should be feeling quite a bit better.