Rant #56: The Lucy Show Is Back!

This post is more a rave than a rant, but in keeping with the way I have been doing things, we will keep it as a rant.

If you fondly remember The Lucy Show--the series that Lucille Ball did after I Love Lucy and her marriage to Desi Arnaz ended--than you are in luck! MPI Video has just released the entire first season of the show on DVD.

No, this show was never, never up to the comedic standards--and trailblazing techniques--of the I Love Lucy show. The Lucy Show--and later, Here's Lucy, which is also being released in the season by season format by MPI at a later date--were basically off-shoots of the character Arnaz and Ball created for Lucy on I Love Lucy--the scatterbrained lady with ultimately, a heart of gold.

In The Lucy Show, Ball and during the first three seasons, her ultimate comic foil, Vivian Vance--Ethel from I Love Lucy--go it alone without steady males in their lives, and looking at this show nearly 50 years after the first season was produced, they carry it off very well.

They get into similar comedic scrapes like they did on their previous series, and yes, the ladies are a bit older here, but the show is corny, dated and very, very funny, all at the same time.

They certainly don't make sitcoms like this anymore!

The Lucy Show was a virtual family affair for Ball, as the show was not only executive produced by former husband Arnaz (she married comic Gary Morton during these years), but both Lucie Arnaz and Desi Jr. can be seen on the show from time to time if you look hard enough.

The one drawback is the kids on the show. They are cloying, annoying, and can't act at all, but I guess you get the good with the bad here. I will bet that Lucy realized this when The Lucy Show ended its run, because on Here's Lucy, her kids co-starred with her.

All in all, a fine package. For Lucy fans who have been stuck with third-rate DVD versions of these shows in the past, this release is a revelation.

By the way, there are many extras on the DVD, including a wide-ranging interview with Lucie Arnaz where she talks about everything from her participation in show to the uneasiness she felt with her mom, father and stepfather on the set at the same time. And Lucie looks terrific, by the way, as she talks candidly about many things, especially about here mom.

Also, you get to see an early Dick Martin, who played Lucy's next door neighbor--and quasi love interest--on the show.

If there is one DVD for you to get that's out right now, this is it!

So now that you are done reading this entry, scoot over to http://www.mpihomevideo.com/ or amazon.com and pick this DVD up. You will not regret it.

The only regret that I have is this: why did it take so long for this to come out?

Rant #55: I Now Need a New Watch

I have been pretty snakebitten lately when it comes to electronic stuff.

First, my son's computer went bye-bye, now my watch is on the fritz.

Heck, it is a cheap watch. I bought it at Wal-Mart for $18 about two years ago. It is waterproof and has a lighted dial, although I found out that in a dark movie theater when I want to see what time it is during a crappy movie, it doesn't help me, because the clock hands are not illuminated themselves.

Anyway, the darn thing was starting to give out last week, but once I put it on my wrist, I think my pulse (I do have one) sparked it and got it going again. Now, the pulse isn't working on the watch, and it stopped dead last night at about 10 p.m.

It may need a new battery, but I haven't had much luck with watch batteries in the past. Once they are put in, they last a few months and then the watch is useless again.

I think I will get myself a new watch. It is the only jewelry, so to speak, that I wear, and I have worn a watch since I was about seven years old. I feel naked without one.

So I will have to buy a new one. And hopefully this one will be totally illuminated, so I can see how many minutes are left in the next cruddy movie I see.

Rant #54: Angels, Devils and Meet the Mets (and Press)

If ever there was a time that professional sports collided with sports journalism, yesterday was the day.

In a truly New York moment that ended up making national news, Omar Minaya, the general manager of the New York Mets, fired Tony Bernazard, the Mets' vice president of development, after word had leaked out through a column written by New York Daily News beat columnist Adam Rubin that Bernazard, among other indiscretions, ripped off his shirt and challenged one of the Mets' minor league teams to a fight. He also had verbal sparrings with several Met players, and all of this behavior, added to the recent failings of the Mets, led to his firing.

That would have been all fine and good, but during a press conference, Minaya insinuated that the reason Rubin wrote these accounts was ... to get Bernazard's job for himself.

Evidently, Rubin very casually spoke to owner Fred Wilpon some time ago about the possibility of "how to get a front office job." The question was very off the cuff, was done away from the Mets and Rubin's focus of business--the team's new Citifield ballpark--and was asked very innocently.

Minaya claimed that Rubin's more direct line of fire was to "get" Bernazard in his column, and when that was accomplished, move in for the kill--get Bernazard's former job.

As you can expect, Rubin was taken aback by this accusation, as he was now the focus of the story, not Bernazard and not the Mets. Did he write his columns to "out" Bernazard?

Of course, anyone who knows the Mets' situation knows that this is bunk of the highest degree. In fact, Minaya later held another news conference, where he said he still backs his accusations but agreed with others that the way he presented them really wasn't professional.

To use Rubin as a scapegoat for the Mets' mess is deplorable. Obviously, Minaya, Mets Manager Jerry Manuel, and the coaching staff are on the hot seat, and if the Mets don't improve they will be gone by season's end.

That is the obvious. The less obvious facet of the entire episode is this: even if he asked the question innocently, why was Rubin asking the owner of the Mets about future job opportunities--and more importantly, why are Rubin's sportswriter brethren sticking up for him as if he were a martyr?

I read one columnist today who said that with the recent fate of many newspapers--some of which have gone under in recent months--it was a smart move for a sportswriter to be asking about future employment. Also, so many sportswriters have gone into the front office in the past--former commissioner Ford Frick is one--that it is a "natural" move.

I say that Rubin should have known better. Heck, I am a writer. If I went to a competing publication, or one of our advertisers or companies that we deal with, and asked a similar question on the side, and word got out to my boss, my rear end would be on the carpet immediately, and I would surely be at least reprimanded if not fired.

It is totally unethical to ask the owner of the team that you are reporting on about "job possibilities." In fact, Rubin initially hedged when asked about whether he had made such inquiries, but he later admitted to it.

The Mets are under a tremendous amount of pressure to be competitive this year. They have a new ballpark and they are the perennial second team in town, behind the Yankees--who also have a new ballpark and are currently making the most of it. The Mets have been killed by injuries to major players this year, and someone has to take the blame ...

And Omar Minaya has elected Adam Rubin as his blame representative.

How infantile. Minaya should be out on his tush soon too.

But Rubin--if I were the Daily News, I would call him on the carpet too. He is the proverbial cat who ate the canary, and the feathers are beginning to stick out of his mouth.

Rant #53: It Isn't Even August Yet ...

For me, at least, we are in the dog days of summer.

This happens each and every year. It isn't even August yet, and the days are beginning to drag.

It has a lot to do with my place of business. We are in our busy season--we have a tremendous issue of our publication to get out--and I have been working real hard to make sure it gets out in a timely fashion.

There's lots of writing, lots of data entry, lots of statistics lots of fact checking, and lots of questions to be asked.

It is so huge that I feel like I am constantly running in place, even though I am sitting down.

Not only that, but my family's vacation this year, not even a month old, is just a distant memory right now. We watched some movies of what we did the other day, and boy, I wish I was down there in Florida now.

As I said in a previous post, the weather hasn't been that summer-like in this neck of the woods, although this week it looks like we will be in the 80s.

I think this issue that I am working on gets my goat every year. I think I am getting too old to be doing this ...

I guess I got the "Summertime Blues." (Thank you Eddie Cochran and later, Blue Cheer.)

But like clockwork, I will bounce back after this stuff is all done. I always do.

I guess everyone is allowed to feel down at times during the year, as long as you can pick yourself up. I am happy to say that I can do that, so my temporary depression won't last long.

And the Yankees won again. Of course, I was not there (they played the Rays in Florida), so that will always bring my spirits up! I should have known they were going to lose the game that I went to--I later found out it was Family Day for the players, where they can bring their families and play on the field with them after the game. Never go to a ballpark that has Family Day for the players--it means a lot of first-pitch swinging, and an attitude of "Let's get this over with so we can be with our family."

It's like many years ago, when I went to a local racetrack (one of the few times I ever did), I heard an old codger tell another oldster, "Never bet on a horse that takes a crap on the turf right before he is set to run," or something to that effect. It's the same thing--never go to Family Day unless you are prepared for a long afternoon of baseball on the down side.

Anyway, writing this has made me feel up! Now I can get back to work! Hooray!

Rant #52: Of Course, I Pick This Game

This weekend, my family and I finally went to the new Yankee Stadium to see a game--and to see the new stadium, of course.

The Yankees are red hot right now, in first place by 2 1/2 games over the Boston Red Sox.

The team completed their homestand at 9-1 with a win yesterday against the Oakland A's.

But, of course, we went to the Saturday game, the only game on the homestand that they lost.

Oh well.

As for the stadium, it really is beautiful. If anyone remembers how cramped the old stadium was, especially in the aisles leading to the field, this one is the direct opposite. Everything is wide open, and you can still see the game if you are at one of the concession stands.

We sat all the way up out in left field, and even though the temperature was in the mid 80s, we really didn't feel it, as we were in the shade for the entire day. And we had a great breeze throughout most of the day, to the point where one or two times my Yankees hat almost blew off my head.

And yes, the prices on everything are through the roof. I bought two hot dogs, and three chicken finger platters, and one beer, and it cost me more than $50. Add that to the food I bought later for my son--ice cream and a hot dog--and I spent close to $70 on food alone.

And that does not include parking, which cost $19.

Although the game was not a good one for the Yankees, I must say again that the new stadium is a site (and a sight) to behold. They have really made it into a beauty. It has everything one could ask for in a stadium ...

But in my eye, it isn't Yankee Stadium. It is a fantastic replica, but it is not Yankee Stadium. Yes, it is nothing more than a clone of its former self, a carbon copy, a Xerox. But nothing more.

What it is is a wonderful, modern stadium for the newest and succeeding generations of Yankees fans and baseball fans in general. But for me, who attended dozens of games at the old place since 1965, it is simply a replica of the grand old lady, which sits covered in mesh right across the street. I was so sad when I saw how it was covered up. It looked dead, but it was such a lively place. I know I wouldn't want to be the one to take the wrecking ball to this facility, which to baseball fans was our cathedral, a place of grandeur and history, even though it was cramped and maybe not as versatile as the newer stadiums are.

And as an addendum to what I said, getting to the new stadium was pretty good, took us a little more than an hour, even with the problems associated with the recent fire at the Throgs Neck Bridge. However, getting home was a nighmare. We were diverted through the streets of the South Bronx, which in the old days was like getting diverted through the streets of bombed out places in Europe during the height of World War II but is now just a horrible way to see the decay of the once proud borough of the Bronx. Not only is it horrible, but it took about an hour to get to the highway--about the same amount of time it took us to get to the Stadium!

Otherwise, even though the Yankees lost, it was a fine day.

Will we go back? Sure, but we will do it next year. I have to save up for tickets!

Rant #51: Let Yourself Be Heard!

This is going to be a real short rant, because my eyes are bothering me again, but I was heartened to hear from two of you about my previous rant about the lack of participation at the blog.

I wish I can hear from more of you, because I know you are out there--not just in the U.S., but in Europe and elsewhere too.

So keep the comments coming. Do not be shy! I want to hear from you, whether positive, negative, or somewhere in between.

As for my eyes, everything was going pretty good until this morning, when I woke up and I knew something was amiss. Everything is pretty fuzzy now, and I guess I am going to have to call the doctor and make an appointment to have him look at me again.

This is so frustrating that I cannot put it into words.

Anyway, keep the comments coming. I really enjoy hearing from everyone.

Rant #50: So Where Is Everybody?

I can't believe I have posted 50 rants on this site. It has been a lot of fun ...

But only seemingly for me and a couple of other people.

I have posted rants about a diverse amount of subjects--Michael Jackson, baseball, ampersands, and the weather, just to name a few--but I haven't received many replies.

I know that people are coming to the site, because it has received well over 1,000 hits since its creation. This is not a huge amount in the blog universe, but I am pretty satisfied with that number.

I know that people are coming to the site from not just the United States, but also Europe.

So why so few replies?

I don't know. I think people like to read rather than post.

But if you agree or disagree with something, please let me know. It makes everything that much more fun for me and those who come to the site.

As you know, I have joined Twitter, but frankly, I haven't seen any benefits from it yet. I've gotten a number of followers, but most of them I have deleted, because they have links to porn sites. The others I have seem to be legitimate, and one of the followers is Newsweek, so I guess they like to see what's going on in the blog universe too.

But back to this site--please respond when something touches you, when something riles you, when something needs to be said by you. That is the only way to keep this thing going.

Thanks for your understanding and hopefully, I will get some more involvement by you, the visitors to this blog.