Rant #614: On the Watch

So many things are in the middle of happening right now that I don't know where to begin.

They are stories that are developing right in front of our eyes, and their endpoints are, seemingly, far in the future.

Here are just a few that I, personally, have been watching.

NBA Players Reject Latest Offer From Owners: In an economy where so many people are out of work and so many others are having trouble putting food on the table, don't you find it kind of nauseating that the millionaire players are fighting with billionaire owners over a percentage point or two cut of a billion dollar pie?

There seems to be no end to this, and it will probably go to the courts--not basketball courts--one way or the other if the players seek to decertify their union.

These people live in a different world than most of us, and how both sides fail to see how sickening they are acting is beyond my comprehension.

Herman Cain Continues To Fight Back Against Accusers: The more Cain says he didn't do anything untoward to these ladies, the more I am starting to believe the women.

The only problem I have with this is that they seem to be coming out of the woodwork. When Cain ran for President in 2004, where were these women? Somehow, even though I am starting to see a pattern of behavior that I don't think befits a potential leader of this country, I think these women are coming forward for other reasons, maybe even the hope of a big payday down the line.

Can Cain survive this? Sure he can. Look at Bill Clinton for evidence of that.

Penn State Scandal Gets Worse: If this isn't the most heinous story of the year, I don't know what is. How school officials can put their football program ahead of the safety of children is beyond my understanding.

And it is getting worse. Although eight cases of abuse have been spoken about, I heard this morning that there actually may be more, many more, children who was abused by Joe Paterno's coach. If this is true, and even if it isn't and it remains eight cases, there are a lot of people with blood on their hands in this case, not just the perpetrator.

And yes, they should all be removed from their positions with the school. And that includes Joe Paterno, who didn't do anything illegal, but didn't do anything right either.

A Dog's Life: This is a more personal thing, but my family's dog is hanging in there. He is sick, and that probably isn't going to change, but he is starting to act more like himself than he was a few days and weeks ago.

Look, we know he is not going to get better, he is just going to get worse. But he seems to be almost "content" with his condition. He has learned to live with it to a certain degree, and even though he is 14 1/2 years old, there seems to be a lot of life in the old boy.

Personally, if he can get through the winter, I will be surprised. But I will tell you this, he will die trying.

Rant #613: Go to the "Head" of the Class

Yes, I know that Joe Frazier died. He was a monumental boxer, and in his own way, helped change America. Frazier was a legend, and he will be missed.

And yes, I know that Dr. Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. Well, you just knew that someone would be blamed for this, rather than the singer himself. Even in the court of law, evidently no one is responsible for his own craziness. I wonder that if Jackson were alive, would he have been brought in for hiring this doctor to administer to him drugs that are normally found only in doctors' offices? I guess we will never know.

And yes, the Beach Boys' monumental "Smile" LP has finally been released. More a document of its time than a straight reissue, it is nonetheless, a must album for anyone who is interested in rock and roll as we know it.

That moves me to a straight reissue that came out last week. It is also a monumental recording, and while it has been re-released several times, this newest issue came out on high-grade vinyl.

The Monkees' "Head" soundtrack album, like "Smile," is a document of its time. It was 1968, things were changing fast, and the Beatles had moved from "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to "The End" in a "Magical Mystery Tour" that would screech to a halt just two years later.

The world of cinema was also changing. Using French "New Wave" moviemakers as a touchstone, American filmmakers were starting to push the envelope. New freedoms were being realized, and starting in 1968, just about anything was game.

Bert Schneider and Bob Rafelson helped to created the Monkees in 1966, and by doing so, brought the first long hairs to network television. They weren't rapists, murderers, druggies or bums. They were literally the kids next door, and Peter Tork, Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz fit those roles perfectly. They even became a real band, and in 1967, the so-called Summer of Love, they outsold the flowery Beatles and Rolling Stones combined.

But this was 1968. The wheels were falling off the Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville" pretty quickly. Their popular show had surprisingly been cancelled, and a segueway to the big screen was inevitable.

So came "Head."

Written, or really, pieced together by then fledgling actor Jack Nicholson after a weekend binge with the boys, the movie served as a death knoll for the Pre-Fab Four as pop idols and also ripped apart not only rock and roll, but moviemaking at the same time.

It took on everybody and everything in Hollywood, and stands as one of the strangest, and most dead-on, movies about Tinseltown that has ever been committed to celluloid.

The problem was that the Monkees' pre-teen audience didn't get it. This was way beyond them. And it was one of the first movies to garner a rating, and it was "M", which back then, made it something like an "R" rated movie is today. Kids aren't supposed to see those types of movies.

And for hipsters, I mean, it was the Monkees, not the Beatles, and not even an appearance by ultra-hip Frank Zappa could save this film.

The movie flopped, and was destined to fade into the mist with the Monkees themselves.

As we all know, that didn't happen. The Monkees have lived on in one form or another as one of the most popular rock groups of all time. The show is also a document of the times, constantly rerun and repackaged for home video viewing. It was recently re-released on DVD and Blu-ray as part of the boxed set celebrating the films of Schneider and Rafelson.

And the movie has had more than nine lives, becoming one of the all-time cult classics of that exciting, bewildering era. I mean, it was released the year that both Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated. That was some year!

Anyway, the soundtrack to that movie has been re-released again by Rhino Records on high-grade vinyl. I received it in the mail the other day, and WOW!, what a re-release it is.

It is every bit as good as the various CD releases of the soundtrack that have been in the marketplace in the past. Its nooks and crannies are still there, but the sound quality is superb, even better than a CD.

The Monkees perform just six songs, but they are among the best songs the group ever recorded. In between are various soundbites that make the album sort of a aural stew rather than a traditional soundtrack.

"Porpoise Song" might be the greatest psychedlic pop number ever recorded. This Carole King song, sung to perfection by Micky Dolenz, is both rhythmic and daring at the same time, and you just can't get the song out of your head once you hear it.

Jack Nicholson, who also put the album together, pulled a switch here, because the shorter version of the song is on the LP. The longer version is actually on the original single. But the album version holds up as the better of the two.

"Circle Sky" is perhaps the greatest mix of rock and roll and country that there has ever been. The power of the Mike Nesmith song is felt throughout, abetted by appearances by Neil Young and Ry Cooder.

It is a real stomper, and once again, Nicholson fooled us, using the studio version to the far superior live--all Monkees--version. But the song is still fantastic.

"Can You Dig It" is a song of its time, and once again, Micky's vocals stand out, and actually bring the song to another level. Its use of Indian rhythms was certainly influenced by George Harrison's delvings at the time, and it is a great tune, as written by Peter Tork.

Side two opens with "As We Go Along," which pretty much explains the entire movie in a couple of minutes' time. Micky sounds like Grace Slick on this tune, and it is also one of his best vocal performances.

Then we have "Daddy's Song," a cover of a Harry Nilsson tune that is Davy Jones' showcase on the LP. Nicholson fools us again, using a different track on the LP than is featured in the film.

Finally, we have "Long Title: Do I Have to Do This All Over Again," a true rave-up that, like "As We Go Along," sums up the entire film. Peter Tork stands out here as both a writer and singer, certainly his best performance as a Monkee.

What an LP! And yes, it comes with its original mirror cover--get it? "Head"--you become the cover when you look at it.

Rhino's re-release comes with a bonus single, a different, live version of "Circle Sky" and a killer version of "Can You Dig It" with a Peter Tork vocal.

Whew! What a record.

If "Head" is not the greatest rock and roll movie of all time, it is right up among the best, and its soundtrack is a testament to that.

It is that good, and this new re-release is a must have for rock and roll fans of any ilk.

Rant #612: How Many Lives Does a Dog Have?

Just to keep you up to date on the dog situation at my house, our pet dog Max, who I think was on death row last week, has made something of a recovery.

Ever since the middle of last week, he seems more himself.

Sure, he still has cancer, is dragging his swollen back foot terribly, and he looks like an old dog.

But he is keeping in his bladder fluids and other stuff better now.

He seems peppier, with a lot more play in him, although he won't go after his ball anymore. I guess he doesn't have the pep he once had as a puppy.

And he is eating us out of house and home.

For a sick dog, this dog can eat.

No, that's not a picture of our Max, but I like it anyway.

It's kind of funny. Once my wife and I spoke about putting him down--and spoke about it right in front of him--he seems to have rejuvenated himself. It's almost as if he heard us talking, and doesn't want to go just yet.

Maybe, like an athlete, he is reaching back for one more, even though he is dead tired. Not dead, just dead tired.

I don't know how much longer I give this dog.

The winter is coming, and going in and out of the freezing weather and snow to do his thing might be too much for this mutt.

As it is, he still has trouble going up the stairs.

I told my wife that once he can't go up the stairs anymore--and I have to carry him--that will really signify the end.

But right now, he has gotten a reprieve, from somewhere.

People have been known to live with cancer for years before succumbing to their fate. Perhaps it is the same thing with our Max.

If he continues to take his medicine, and receive the love that we give him, maybe the old boy can last a lot longer than we originally thought he could.

My wife doesn't have the heart to put him down, and even though my resolve is stronger than hers, I think I don't have the heart, either.

He doesn't seem to be in pain, just in a bit of a downslide. And I think he knows it.

But for right now, Max isn't a goner.

If anything, he's a stayer.

But for how long, who knows?

Rant #611: Coming Full Cyrkle

This week is a pretty prestigious one in the annals of Rock 'N Roll.

Finally, the Beach Boys' "Smile" album has been released, in a number of different formats, including ....

VINYL!!!

Yes, the long elusive LP, which was never completed due to a variety of group mishaps, is finally out. I will probably get it soon, and I can't wait. I have so much bootlegged stuff on this album that I can't imagine that the legitimate release can have any more interesting material, but it supposedly has things that were never legitimately or illegitimately released before.

Since you can probably read a million reviews of the Beach Boys' release, I am going to move on to a group that didn't last long, had only two huge hits, and is an act that doesn't have any new re-releases on its schedule.

The Cyrkle was definitely a product of its time, and it's a group that I have always been enamored with.

Meeting in college in Pennsylvania in the mid 1960s, the band--whose core was Don Dannemann and Tom Dawes--produced some of the lightest-weight pop music possible in the mid-1960s.

Heck, they made a lightweight band like the Association seem out-of-sight by comparison.

Named by John Lennon and managed by Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, the band toured with the Fab Four and had two monster hits--well actually one, and one that got a huge amount of airplay.

"Red Rubber Ball" was not written by Paul Simon alone as many think. It was actually co-written by Simon and Bruce Woodley, who was with the red-hot Seekers at this time. It is everything a pop song should be--light, bouncy, with singalong lyrics that don't get too deep.

I have always loved this song. Simon and Garfunkel actually had a live version of this song, but the Cyrkle's version hits the mark.

"Turn-Down Day" was their second hit, and while it doesn't have the effervescence of the previous song, it follows along the same pattern of good-feeling pop.

They had a couple of other chartmakers, including the irresistible "Please Don't Ever Leave Me" backed with "Money to Burn," which I thought was their best all-around A and B side single, and they had some others, but generally, after two LPs and nine singles on Columbia Records, that was pretty much it for them.

But the story doesn't end here.

The put out the soundtrack to one of the early and classic adult porn films, entitled "The Minx."

The film started out as a standard movie, but the producers felt the film needed a bit more pizzazz, and added sex scenes after the main scenes were filmed.

Anyway, this was the Cyrkle's last hurrah, and while it isn't their best stuff, what a swan song it was!

Their total output is available on CD, and you can find these out-of-print collections on amazon.com.

But their story doesn't end there, either.

Both Dannemann and Dawes went into the commercial jingle field, and they wrote jingles for many major products. Dawes wrote the "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is" jingle for Alka Seltzer, and that is just one of many that the two put together over the years.

Dawes passed away a few years ago, and Dannemann is still around. In 1980, he and his wife released a tune about John Lennon which I simply cannot find. It is the one Cyrkle-related artifact that I can't locate.

If you are fan of 1960s pop, the Cyrkle is a band to investigate.

Then, get the Beach Boys' release.

You just can't go wrong with either the Beach Boys or the Cyrkle.

You just can't.

Rant #610: "Occupy Wall Street" Is Over (Or Should Be)

Making your point is one thing, overstaying your welcome is another.

I think that after six weeks, Occupy Wall Street protesters have made their point. Corporate America is partly to blame for the current economic state of this country. I don't think too many people can dispute that.

They made their point, but now, they are overstaying their welcome.

The ones who are still part of this movement, and who are occupying Zuccotti Park in Manhattan, are becoming parasites rather than protesters.

They are feeding off the initial goodwill that New York City showed them, and they are starting to cross the boundaries of staying too long at the party.

It seems that for every diehard protester, there are hangers on who really don't care about what is going on, but they are in for a free meal.

And based on recent news reports, some of them are also in for a good feel, as at least one "protester" has been brought up on sexual harassment charges.

According to news reports, the protesters are littering the streets, relieving themselves all over the park, destroying businesses in the area, and they are becoming more violent and defiant.

And as the movement has spread, the defiance and violence quotients are up. Look at what is happening in Oakland, the site of the Berkeley student protests of the 1960s.

It's becoming not a non-violent protest, but a mob scene, with a mob mentality.

The people who are part of this movement are basically descendants of the people who took over the universities in the 1960s. Many are from rich families, and they use corporate America when they need to, blast them when they don't.

Sure, many are homeless, out of work, in poverty, and are in other forms of personal disarray.

And their initial point was a good one.

But like I have said, they have overstayed their welcome. They made their point, and now it is time to move on.

They have become a joke, not a flashpoint for change.

Trying to shut down docks, office buildings and other commerce generators is not making a point, it is giving reasons for the effected companies to lay off workers.

Is that what the goal is now?

I think the goals have become somewhat frazzled now. People are just coming to the meeting places, with their iPads and cell phones created by corporate America, to be seen. They don't care about being heard anymore, they just want to be seen. And many don't go back to the park, the take the railroad back to their homes in Long Island and Westchester.

Cushy indeed.

And lest we forget, lots of celebrities, who would be down and out and not reeling in millions without the backing of various corporations, are showing up, to be seen.

One person who actually has been in attendance at some of the rallies actually told me that a major celebrity, who shall remain nameless, appeared at the meeting place after exiting a limousine.

C'mon now, let's get real!

I have not been there, and have no plans to. But if you want to believe what you read, this movement, if you will call it that, is populated not by protesters, but by squatters.

I think it is time to close it down, and close it down before there are any more problems.

And if it lasts any longer, you can bet there will be problems, and plenty of them.

And what have the protesters actually accomplished other than bring attention to themselves?

Nothing--absolutely nothing.

And they have become warts to the communities that they have seized.

It is time to use wart remover.

Get rid of them, and get rid of them before this becomes a situation that is completely out of control.

Rant #609: Dog's Day Afterthought

As I mentioned yesterday, everything isn't going my way lately.

There are some good things happening, and some bad.

Here is the "ultimate" bad.

My family's dog, Max, a part of our family for 14 1/2 years, is not doing too well right now.

The last time we took him to the vet, this mutt--a mixed breed terrier and pit bull--had a bad left hind leg that he couldn't walk on. We were told that he had cancer in that area, and chances are that it would affect his bowel movement, since the use of his hind legs to squat is essential. Also, the cancer probably would spread.

I look at this dog--not the dog in the photo but he kind of looks like Max--and remember when he was a puppy and then an older dog. He was a house dog, but he had all the pep of a puppy up until about two or three months ago.

One day, after I took him out to do his thing, he almost fell down the stairs. He hurt his left hind leg, and was limping pretty badly.

We took him to the vet, and they did a couple of things to him, and he appeared to be fine.

But then, a few weeks after that, he almost fell down the stairs again, and yes, the left hind leg was bad all over again.

That is when we took him to the vet and was given the word that Max has cancer.

Max is a good, loyal dog. I swear he understands every word I say to him.

And yes, I think he understands that his days are numbered.

I look into his face now, and I see a hollow face, not the one that I remember.

He almost looks like he is asking us to put him down.

And yes, he is losing control of himself ... all over the house.

I have broached the subject of putting him down with my wife. My wife kind of agreed, but now she is backing off.

She just doesn't have the heart to do it.

And honestly, neither do I, although I am realistic, and I know that it is probably the best thing for him.

We were originally going to do this during the weekend on Saturday, but now my wife has said that she simply can't do it.

Max is eating well, and he still barks a lot when he wants food or water or a treat.

But he is a shell of his former self.

We simply don't know what to do with him.

Prior to Max, we had another terrier/pit bull mutt. His name was Mikey.

He had an awful disposition. He was nasty, and very vindictive.

He got old. He had tumors all over his body, and cowered under our bed. He couldn't hear or see very well.

It was a no brainer, and we had to put him down.

That day was a horrible one. My wife was working, but myself, my father, and my son, who was a baby at the time, took him to the pound.

Mikey knew where he was going, and put up a fight, but in the end, it was for the better of all of us, including him.

To see him suffer was probably almost as horrible as his own suffering.

I had nightmares about that dog for six months after we did this. I really did.

I don't like to play God, but I think Max's time may have come.

And like Mikey, I think he knows it.

People claim that animals do not have souls. I don't know about fish, gerbils, hamsters, cats or ferrets, but dogs do have souls.

They know when they have done wrong, and they know when they have done something right.

And I do believe they know when the end is near.

And Max knows exactly what is going on. I am convinced of it.

What to do? I simply don't know.

Do we let him literally shrivel up to nothing, losing himself in every portion of our house?

Or do we put him out of his obvious misery?

Like I said, I just don't know.

Any thoughts on this matter would be appreciated.

Rant #608: All Is Well In My World (Sort Of)

All is well in the world, at least in my world.

That isn't really true. There are some unsettled things.

But generally, everything in my world is copacetic.

Sort of.

The Yankees signed CC Sabathia again to another lucrative contract extension.

That is good.

Kim Kardashian has ended her marriage to a basketball player after less than three months of wedded bliss.

Good. Really, who cares anyway?

The NBA is still not playing games, and the owners and players appear to be in a downward spiral to oblivion.

I am sure that some of you are again saying "Who cares," but I do care.

Millionaires arguing with billionaires over petty money issues is a downer.

And in this lousy economy, it is a punch in the face to families who are having a hard time putting food on the table everyday.

And I like basketball. I really do. So with the prospects of no 2011-2012 season looming, what am I going to do with myself?

Not shovel snow, I can tell you that.

Not now, at least.

At least in my neck of the woods, that fall snow storm brought nothing with it.

Sure, it was weird seeing snow in October, but we didn't get anything, or really next to nothing. Some areas got nearly two feet of snow, which falling leaves fell on top of.

It's too early for that, isn't it?

So, I guess all is well in my world, but to a point.

And later in the week, I have to tell you some bad news, at least on my end, that assures that this week really isn't that great after all.

Stay tuned.