Weekly Mail Year in Review Part One

JANUARY


January 3- I Have Nobody to Blame but Myself. It's Really My Own Fault.

Crazy thing is, everyone who responded to that post knew exactly what I was talking about. I was referring to my year long vow to avoid the Jets at all costs, only to cave in and watch their win and they're in game against Rex Ryan the Bills. The week before, they had knocked off the Patriots, and a couple of weeks before that, the Giants. I was in Long Beach safely in a movie theater watching The Force Awakens for the Patriot game, and playing with my niece Finley for the Giants game. Instead of doing something fun and constructive with my family, I watched the Jets spit the bit in Buffalo, and miss the playoffs. This season, they've been so bad, that not watching them has been a snap.


January 7-I have a friend who thought he was the Unibomber-RIP Pat Harrington.

The friend in question was Karl (The Ace) Ludwig, Weekly Mail co-editor in chief who was convinced Schnieder from One Day at a Time was the infamous Unabomber, before they captured Ted Kaczinski. Sadly, Harrington's death started a parade of celebrities who died in 2016. David Bowie and Glen Frey also died in January.


January 23-Happy Blizzard 2016

27.5 inches in Central Park broke the old record from 2006, which broke a record that had been in place since 1947. Then three days later, most of the snow was gone. It's getting much harder for even a Bible thumping right winger like myself to deny climate change.




FEBRUARY

February 6- Christie and Rubio are tossing haymakers tonight.

This was the New Hampshire debate right before the New Hampshire primary. NJ Governor Chris Christie and Florida Senator Marco Rubio took turns hammering each other. Unfortunately (for me anyway) Rubio took the worse of it, many claiming that Christie caused irreparable damage. Christie faired worse, dropping out days later. Rubio made it all the way to his home state's Primary, where he was waxed by Donald Trump.



February 7-Everybody knows how much I hate the Patriots, but geez at least they give you a good Super Bowl. This game has been nothing but fumbles, stupid penalties and just real slop. 

The Super Bowl was a snoozefest. Even the commercials were lame. But Peyton Manning got his second ring, so now he's as good as his kid brother. 




February 16-It's only February, but we have a winner for dumbest entertainer of the year.

Rapper Tyga might want to reconsider who he hires for his security detail. Tyga threw an after Grammy party and one of his security guards denied entry to a 73 year old British guy and two of his friends. That would be Paul McCartney, Beck and Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters. 

Tyga for his part, denied he had any knowledge of Macca and friends being dissed outside the party. But shoot, if that happened to you, would you cop to it? 





MARCH

March 6- Who comes up with this stuff? 

Trump and 2012 GOP candidate Mitt Romney had been going at it all week. I was working at the Post on March 5, with a few primaries going on. One of the editors said that they wanted a headline that said something like Kiss My A$$ Mitt Romney. I suggested if Trump won Kentucky, they could say Kiss My Bluegrass. They got a chuckle out of it, but a few hours later, with Trump having hung on to win Kentucky, that's the headline they went with. Sometimes work can be fun.

March 19-Another year, another bracket shot to hell. Once again I picked the Final Four wrong. And John Calipari is the most overrated coach in the NCAA. 

My memory is a bit fuzzy here but I'm guessing Kentucky got knocked out early. 


APRIL

April 3- Nice play Cespides. Now I'm having flashbacks

Same inning, same ballpark same team. Same play. Our $25 million man drops an easy fly ball. 6 months earlier he did it in the World Series. This was opening night. 


April 4- Wow! WTG Nova!

The tournament ended with a classic. North Carolina and their douchebag coach, Roy Williams were 5.3 seconds away from winning the NCAA Tournament, when Villanova's Kris Jenkins hit a 3 pointer at the buzzer to give Nova the title. Good stuff. 




April 19-Whether you vote for this guy today or not, you have to admit this is a great commercial. One of my favorite songs.

This guy=Bernie Sanders. One of my favorite songs=America by Simon and Garfunkel. Here is the commercial. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIZW5trdE5o



April 19-"Laugh about it, shout about it, when you got to choose, anyway you look at it you lose" -Simon and Garfunkel

And it only got worse after April 19. Much worse after April 19. 



April 21-The older I get the more I appreciated his music. RIP Prince.

This was a real blow. When I was a kid, I was embarrassed to admit how much I liked him. As an adult I'm embarrassed that I was embarrassed. One of many terrific talents who left us way too soon in 2016. 


MAY


May 15-Swept by the Rockies. Unbelievable !

The Mets would have issues with the Rockies, Braves and Diamondbacks all year. If they had taken care of business against the $h-tty teams like that, they may have had a shot at the division.. 


May 19- Katie Gal- Not my best picture but tonight I finished my first 5K in the American Heart Association's Wall Street Run & Heart Walk. 
When asked why I ran "my family" was my answer. For my mom, my brother Bill Gallagher, my niece Rebecca and for all those who aren't with me today because of heart disease.
I couldn't have done it without the amazing support of my friends Daisy, Kareen Williams, & Rebecca Zack who crossed the finish line with me. Thank you also to everyone who supported my team: Heart Beats! 
Sometimes even really good writers can't come up with the words to justify their feelings. To say that my sisters are awesome, doesn't come close to doing them justice. What Katie did that day was amazing. How lucky can I get?


May 26-  How does a team who won 73 games this season play such stupid basketball?

The 2016 Golden State Warriors were challenging the 1996 Bulls as the greatest team record wise in NBA history. I hated Jordan and the Bulls because they were so good. I wanted to see Steph Curry and the Warriors break their record. They broke the regular season record, but needed to wi the title to cap it all off. All I saw of the Warriors were a team that played no D, turned the ball over and hoisted 3 pointers like they were going out of style. How they won 73 games in that manner blew my mind. 


May 28- WTF just happened? Please someone tell me Thor didn't just get run for that pitch to Utley?

I love my buddy Dan (No Shot) Unverzagt, but I don't care what he says, Thor shouldn't have been thrown out. 
Background, Mets pitcher Noan Syndergaad was thrown out of the Mets game against the Dodgers for throwing behing Chase Utley. My stance was and still is, if Thor wanted to nail Utley, he would have. 



JUNE



June 4- RIP Muhammad Ali
June 10-RIP Gordie Howe. A sad day in Canada

Though Muhammad Ali and Gordie Howe could not be more opposite of each other in style and personality, it's what they represented that linked them together. Canadians are known for their hard work and fierce determination, as well as their kindness and generosity. Gordie Howe was as rough and tumble on the ice as he was classy and kind off of it. 
Americans can be loud and brash but when we put our minds to something and see it through, we are hard to beat. Ali was loud and brash, and at his best in the ring, he was unbeatable. 
Two of their respective nations most iconic athletes died within a week of each other.


June 12-I'm sorry but I stand by my allegation that the NHL rigged this for the Penguins

Gary Bettman hand delivered Sidney Crosby to Pittsburgh, somehow they are able to fit Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Carl Hagelin under their salary cap, and NBC never misses a chance to put either the Pens or the Caps on TV. The higher ups at the NHL envision the Penguins becoming the Dallas Cowboys of the NHL. North Americas Team as it were. Bettman is obsessed with small markets teams competing for the Cup, and if everything were to hold serve this season, he will egt his wish. As of this writing, the two best teams in the Eastern and Western Conference respectively are the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild. Must see TV if there ever was. 


June 19-That sound you hear is an entire city holding its breath.

The city in question was Cleveland. With 10.6 seconds left and the Cavs up by 3, LeBron James was fouled hard driving to the hole. He went down in a heap and stayed down for what seemed like a long time. The city of Cleveland, on the verge of capturing it's first title of any kind since LBJ was President, had to have been dying inside seeing that. Shoot, I can't stand LeBron and was rooting for Golden State, and I felt bad!

and also

Congratulations Cleveland. You deserve it.

 The Warriors went down the way they had stayed up all year: Launching threes from all over God's Green Earth. Much like a baseball team that relies on the three run homer, or the football team that passes for 500 yards a game, that can only get you so far. Even had the Warriors pulled it out, I still don't think they could hold a candle to the 96 Bulls, the 86 Celtics, the Showtime Lakers, or the early 70's Knicks for that matter. And as much as I can't stand LeBron, I was really happy for the people of Cleveland. 



NEXT WEEK: Weekly Mail Year in Review Part 2 

Weekly Mail Christmas Eve Special

Thank you for tuning in on Christmas Eve.

Several years ago, I put out a list of my favorite Christmas/Holiday Songs. As a general rule, I can't stand Christmas music, I mean, some of it is good, but one of my pet peeves are radio stations that go 24/7 Holiday Music starting in November. But when everybody from Dean Martin to Elvis to Dr. Dre has a Christmas album, it easy to inundate the senses with it. Neil Diamond has a couple of Christmas Albums out. Neil Diamond? Wouldn't that be like Sinatra singing Dradel Dradel Dradel (I'm sure someone is going to dig that up and post it) 

Anyway, I decided to update and expand my list of Christmas songs. The top 3 are pretty much the same, but we have new entries, and also, someone pointed out my last list didn't have any actual religious tunes, so we are going to change that up a bit.

1) Do They Know It's Christmas Time-Band Aid- 32 years we've been hearing this song, and at least as far as I'm concerned it's still the gold standard. It's the Stairway to Heaven of Christmas tunes. Yeah, admtiing you like some of the guys on the record may bring a snicker or too, but together these dudes made some musical magic. 

This is a trivia game that my good friend Jenn Ciardullo created a few years back.

Fill in the blank: Who sang what lines in Do They Know It's Christmastime

1) It's Christmas time, there's no need to be afraid

At Christmastime, we let in light and we banish shade. 

2) And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy

Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time. 

3) But say a prayer, to pray for the other one

At Christmastime

4) It's hard, but when you're having fun

There's a world outside your window.

4) and 5) and its a world of dread and fear

where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears

5) and 6) and the Christmas bells that ring there 

are the clanging chimes of doom.

6) Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you!!!

Answers below. 

2) Happy Christmas (War is Over)  - Plastic Ono Band- The first time I heard this song, Father Lew Maynard played it for us in 8th grade at St. Mary's. 

Powerful and haunting, especially knowing that John Lennon was gunned down just a couple weeks before Christmas. Listening to this song on December 8th catches you right in the throat.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXaLu7bvke8

3) Wonderful Christmastime -Wings-Then of course you have John's songwriting partner. This song is what McCartney lovers love about him and what his detractors couldn't stand about him. Harmless fun. If someone else was singing it, I'll admit it wouldn't make the list, but it's Paul so it does. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9BZDpni56Y

4) Oh, Holy Night -Josh Groban - What a set of pipes this kid has. He recorded this classic at age 21. This is a song you can't just give to anyone, it has to be done perfectly, to capture it's meaning. Groban hits it out of the park and then some. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zh-yR0pbmU

5) Blue Christmas -Elvis/Porky Pig- The Elvis version is a classic by itself, but the Porky Pig version is hysterical.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg7HvF3a_Iw

6) 7 O'Clock News/Silent Night-Simon and Garfunkel- On one side of your speaker, you hear Simon and Garfunkel singing the classic Silent Night. Out of the other speaker, you hear a newscaster (Charlie O'Donnell of Wheel of Fortune fame according to Wikipedia) reading the news headlines of the day, including the death of comedian Lenny Bruce, the indictment of serial killer Richard Speck, and former Vice President Richard Nixon predicting 5 more years of war in Vietnam. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgYFXCUEL4Y

Depressing, but powerful.  So let's pick it up a little.

7) Grandma got Run Over by a Reindeer Elmo and Patsy- Unlike Do They Know... the novelty of this song wore off years ago. Especially after the 1000th time you've heard it this month. Still, when you hear it for the first time during the season, you can't help but chuckle. Should we open up her gifts or send them back? Send them back! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgIwLeASnkw

8) O Come O Come Emmanuel-Joan Baez- Every year at least once or twice, my hippy parents would gather my sisters and I around the entertainment system, bust out the hash brownies, the incense and the lava lamps, and pop  "A Joan Baez Christmas" into the cassette player

Ok so most of that story is bull, but we did have A Joan Baez Christmas in our collection. It was probably a buck and a quarter at some supermarket, which is most likely the reason someone in my house bought it. This is the one song  I remember from it. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlCEXA8oqjM

9) Christmas in Hollis- Run DMC - I'm not much of a rap fan, but this is the closest song to represent my hometown. The official Christmas song of Queens. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4NKwiXGiUQ

10) Fairytale of New York-The Pouges with Kirsty McColl- Had to include this late entry after posting that article praising it on FB a couple of weeks back. Even more so than Christmas in Hollis, this may some up Christmas in Woodside as much as any song. Donovan's and Shelley's were the hometown bars, but Roosevelt Avenue was populated with bars that catered to different counties in Ireland. Every so often I would venture in there and hear some of the stories of homesick young Irish folks struggling to make a go of it here. You forget how tough it can be. This song captures bioth the high hopes and the sometimes crushing reality. The article and video are attached. 

http://theweek.com/articles/595104/fairytale-new-york-how-soused-irish-punk-band-created-greatest-christmas-song-all-time

Honorable mentions

What Child is This?-Luther Vandross*-Ok full disclosure. I don't think Luther Vandross did a version of this song. However, when I narrated the Christmas pageant at my father's church, they used to bring a fellow in named Alwin, who sounded just like Vandross. He sang What Child is This? It was amazing. Not available in stores. 

Speaking of which

Angels We Have Heard on High- United Church of Christ Choir- So these folks aren't really a recorded artist, but when I was a kid, my dad's church had a full choir and they would belt this out every Christmas Eve. All five stanzas. Most of these folks have passed, including my Uncle, but thinking back to hearing them sing those songs is a great family Christmas memory.

 NEWS ITEM: THE LOST ENDING TO OLD LANG SYNE

They've been playing Christmas music at my office, and this piece of sap by Dan Fogelberg has been in heavy rotation. I went on-line to get the lyrics to the song and discovered that the original song had two extra stanzas. I really don't know why Fogelberg decided to scrap the two verses, but thanks to my extensive research, I can now present them to you. 

First here is the song with lyrics. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwtkZ7oTv1o

now after she drives away the lost lyrics pick it up from there...

She started driving on the rain slicked road

After finishing her beer

Her eyes grew heavy and she fell asleep

And she crashed into a deer

The cops arrested her for DUI

She spent Christmas day in jail

And now the profits from this record's sales

Are going towards her bail. 

Maybe it's best they left the song as is. 

ITEM: MORE VIDEO TREATS..

So to wrap this up, I'm leaving you with this web gem I came across after reading Phillip Norman's Biography of Paul McCartney. The author took Sir Paul to task for lowering himself to appear on Britian's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on Christmas Eve 2004. Actually, he lays most of the blame at the feet of Paul's shrew ex-wife Heather Mills, who appears on the show with him. I don't think Norman should be so quick to judge, maybe Paul needed the money.

Anyway here is the link. It's a bit long so you may want to break it up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVjkyxPvi5k&t=516s

*Full disclosure-Paul and Heather were playing for the charity Adopt a Minefield. 

Hope you enjoyed this. Next week will be part one of the year in review. 

Merry Christmas

and Happy Chanukkah

******************************************************************************************************************************

Answers to Do They Know It's Christmas Time Trivia

1) Paul Young

2) Boy George

3) George Michael

4) Simon LeBon

5) Sting

6) Bono

Weekly Mail December 18, 2016

Hello All:


I have a general rule about Brooklyn, I try to avoid it at all costs.

Some of you reading this are probably from Brooklyn, and will now never speak to me again, (hopefully not) Indeed, I have relatives and friends that call the Borough of Kings home.

So no offense, but Brooklyn is my least favorite part of the city to visit. I've lived, worked and played in Manhattan, and that's always fun. The Bronx? I've enjoyed my treks to Yankee Stadium, I spent many nights partying in Woodlawn, and even when I was working on stories for the Post in the not so nice sections of the Bronx, there was something about it. I just have a lot of respect for it.

Staten Island I don't know much about, but I've been there a few times to visit family and I don't mind it.

I'm a Queens kid born and raised, and will always be one at heart, no matter where life takes me.

So what's wrong with Brooklyn? Maybe it's just that I'm sick of hearing about how awesome it is. Hipsterville USA. Maybe it stems from when I worked at a law firm and most of my coworkers were from Brooklyn, and they treated Queens like it was another planet. Maybe it's because you are safer driver backwards during the Daytona 500 than you are driving in Brooklyn.

But mostly it's just the general arrogance of the place. They very clearly believe they have the best of everything... restaurants, museums, theaters, beaches, it's a world unto itself.

So having said all that, I took the family there for dinner on Saturday night.

***RESTAURANT REVIEW   RESTAURANT REVIEW    RESTAURANT REVIEW***

Colandrea New Corner Restuarant.
7201 8th Avenue Brooklyn, NY

You want to talk about a good old Italian Restaurant, this was it. It didn't look particularly charming or modern. The website said it was established in 1936, and I don't think too much has been updated since then, at least in the main dining room. But that wasn't a bad thing, in fact it offered a sense of nostalgia.

And of course that doesn't mean anything if the food is lousy. And this food was far from lousy it was delicious. And the size of the portions was incredible. I don't usually have to cry uncle at a restaurant, especially an Italian one, but I did here.

The wait staff couldn't have been nicer, they seated us right away even though we were early for our reservation.

I would definitely recommend this place, with some advice... come early, bring your appetite, but don't load up on apps, because dinner will more than fill you up.

4.5 Patties.


From there we did one of the coolest things, we went and looked at the Christmas lights in Dyker Heights.

I had seen some pictures on line of these houses, but pictures don't do it justice. They have blocks and blocks of houses that are done up in the most amazing ways possible. And I'm talking every single house, one more electric than the other.

And the crowds of people that were there to gawk was unbelievable. There were hundreds of fellow onlookers, taking family photos or just gazing at the wonder of it all. It felt a lot like Disney World, to be honest. I've honestly never seen anything like it before.

So have I softened up on Brooklyn at all? Not really. But what I saw on Saturday was really impressive. Those folks have earned their right to brag.

********************************************************************************


2016 has seen much more than its fair share of celebreity deaths. To be honest, I'm kind of tired of writing them, as I feel like that's all I've been writing the past few weeks. But one death this wek hit me a bit harder than I would have thought.

Alan Thicke (1947-2016) Growing Pains wasn't one of those shows where I made sure I was home and in front of the TV when it came on, it just was one of those shows where that's exactly where I happened to be when it was on. Looking back, it was such a cookie cutter 1980's family sit-com. Two good looking successful parents, slacker older brother, nerd sister, and wise a$$ younger sibling. (see also Family Ties, the Cosby Show, etc).

And yet when I heard about Thicke's death on Tuesday night, I started You Tubing some old clips from Growing Pains, and I don't know, it really hit home. Maybe I got more of a kick out of the Seavers than I thought I did. More likely, it reminded me of a simpler time, when I could relate more to Mike, Carol and Ben, more than I could to Dr. Jason and Maggie. That show ran from 1985-1992, pretty much right through my teenage years, the times where my mom and dad had to worry about the things that Tara and I have to worry about now.

Yes, by all accounts, Thicke was a good guy, and he was great on Growing Pains, and in his cameos on How I Met Your Mother. He was one of many who tried (and failed) to go up against Johnny Carson. He produced shows, he hosted ceremonies, he wrote songs, very multitalented.

But to be honest, it was his representation of a simpler time that made me sad to hear that he died.


SPORTS-Rangers Goaltending "Controversy"

I want to make some things abundantly clear before I go into this rant. 

In the past 11 seasons, the Rangers have made the playoffs 10 times. Of those 10 times, they were knocked out in the first round 4 times, the second round 3 times. They made it to the conference finals 3 times and to the Stanley Cup Finals once. The overwhelming majority of credit for their success should go to their goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Only a moron would think otherwise. 

More often than not, over the past 11 years, King Henrik has grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat. He has figuratively stood on his head and kept the Rangers in games while our so called big guns scraped by on one or two goals a game. Before he got here, the team had missed the playoffs for an almost unfathomable 7 years in a row (8 if you count the lockout year). I'm not exaggerating when I say that Henrik Lundqvist saved this franchise. 

So I don't want anybody thinking I'm ripping the man without some perspective, but for a while there, Lundqvist had shown some slippage in his game. Goals he would have stopped with his eyes closed were now going in. Every goalie has a bad night now and then, but he was having more than usual. There were some nights where he was bailed out by his scorers instead of the other way around. 

Meanwhile, the King's backup, Antti Raanta, is having a stellar season. And two weeks ago, he had a shutout streak of over 180 minutes. (the equvalent of 3 games).  

So according to some folks, this constitutes a goalie controversy. I'm not buying it. I had no problem with Alain Vingneaut playing Raanta for 4 straight games, shoot he have been nuts not too.  Yes, Hank is still the man and maybe the extra time off did him some good, since he came back from his 4 games off, he's been lights out again. 

Like Herm Edwards once famously said "You play to win the game. " Be it the King or the Prince.

We will have a special Christmas Eve edition of Weekly Mail, then the End of Year Review. 

Have a Great Week!

Weekly Mail December 11,, 2016

Hey:

Saturday afternoon on my way into the city, I couldn't get a seat on the LIRR. That's pretty unusual, the ride in on Saturday is usually pretty uneventful. But when I saw some of the get-ups of the passengers, I remembered what was causing the unusual crowd....

Santa-Con.

Every second Saturday in December, a bunch of folks dress up in Santa suits, or hats or fugly sweaters, and go on a pub crawl.

 And look man I'm not judging. I've done my share of bar crawls, I did the Hat Party in Rockaway from 1993 till the year Tim was born (on Hat Party Weekend, the nerve of him). Karl, Ray and I did the Dirty Dozen, the Baker's Dozen and 14 bars downtown (well 13 and Good Sports) and Karl and I once did what we called The Golf Course, that's right kids, 18 bars in one night. We once kicked around the idea of doing one called the marathon, starting at a bar in Staten Island, and hitting few bars in each borough. I'm no stranger to these crazy things.

But Santa-Con seems to bring out the ugly. Seems like there is excessive fighting,puking and other assortments of involuntary bodily ejections. Manhattan residents have been raising Cain about it because it's seems to be a quality of life issue.

I don't care about any of that, I just don't like standing on my train rides. Interestingly enough. I was able to sit on the ride home. All the drunks were up front. I sat in the back. I really thought i was going to be in the middle of the freak show, but thankfully not.

OBITUARY FOR A HERO


In a year where true American heroes were hard to come by, especially in the political world, we really couldn't afford to lose one as large in stature as John Glenn was.

Glenn, who passed away Thursday at the age of 95, was of course, the first American to orbit the earth. He was also a decorated war pilot flying several missions during World War II and the Korean War. He became the third American into space (after Alan Shepherd and Gus Grissom) and the first to reach the earth's orbit.

Following his retirement from NASA, Glenn ran as a Democrat for the US Senate from Ohio, losing his first election in 1970, but capturing the seat in 1974. He would hold the seat for 25 years, retiring in 1999. He gave the keynote address at the 1976 Democratic National Convention, and was considered a strong candidate to be the Vice Presidential nominee (a job that eventually went to Walter Mondale)

For the most part, Glenn had a scandal free political career (he did get caught up in the Keating 5 scandal, but was exonerated) but really it was his contribution to the space race that he will be most remembered for. The battle for space supremacy in the 60's between the US and the Soviet Union was huge. The Russians were winning big in the early 60's as they were the first ones to get a human into space and the first to get a man into orbit. Glenn was able to match the Soviets and keep us in the race, till we finally put a man on the moon in 1969, to claim victory.

Glenn also hold the distinction of being the oldest person to ever go into space, flying a mission at the age of 77 in 1998.

When Star Trek was on in the late 60's, it described space as the final frontier. It really is, when you think about it. So many of the people who led us into that frontier are gone. Both the aforementioned Shepherd and Grissom are gone, Neil Armstrong died a few years ago. Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins are still alive (though Aldrin was hospitalized recently after a trip to Antarctica). But the numbers are dwindling.

John Glenn was one of the best we had to offer. He lived a full life, but he will be missed. RIP.


WHAT A DRAG IT IS GETTING OLD:

So sang Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones classic 1966 hit Mother's Little Helper. For most of us, maybe it is, but Jagger, in his own strange way is trying to defy the laws of time.

This week, he became a father for the 8th time. Having 8 kids is unusual enough, but having 8 spread out over 46 years is entire different story all together. And having one at 73 years of age is just plain strange. Maybe it's not politically correct to say so, but it just is.

And what the hell was the baby momma, Melanie Hamrick thinking? She's 29 and a dancer, is she that hard up for money and fame that she would fool around with an old man? I know Mick's in great shape, I know he can still move on the stage like he's 50 years younger, (he's got the moves like Jagger after all) but Good Lord, he is still wrinkly and well, old!

And I could defend the woman if he was a decent guy like Paul McCartney, but most accounts are that Mick's a royal a$$hole. And none other than Keith Richards himself sounds that trumpet the loudest, so don't take my word for it either.

Bottom line here is that Mick Jagger now has a son who is younger than his great granddaughter. Let that roll around in your head for a little while.

Two weeks till Christmas

Have a Great Week!

Weekly Mail December 4, 2016

Hi There:

So December has rolled in, 2016 will be exiting in a few short weeks. My sisters used to tease me because it seemed every year I led off my end of year post with Wow, what a tough year this was.

Well by all accounts this was a really tough year, what with celebrities dropping dead left right and center, terrorist attacks, snowstorms, wildfires  and of course the Battle Royale that was the Presidential election. They'll be talking about 2016 for years, I'm kind of glad I got to document some of it. Then again, a lot of it I'd like to forget. About the only people that will look back fondly on 2016 are Cubs fans. Seriously!

We'll rehash everything in our end of year issue. For now, onto the news.


CULINARY OBITUARIES:

1) Jim Delligatti a Pittsburgh McDonald's Franchise owner, credited with inventing the Big Mac, died this week at the age of 98. Amazingly, his son Michael claimed that his dad ate at least one Big Mac per week for the past 40 years or so. And somehow made it all the way to 98. That blows my mind.

I miss Big Macs. Two all beef patties, that magical sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles (which I usually took off) onions (ditto) on a sesame seed bun,.... Heaven.

Of course, my doctors told me I wouldn't make it till 48 if I ate a Big Mac a week, never mind 98. So I've been Big Mac free for a year and a half.

Delligatti seemed to be an interesting dude. He wanted to create a bigger burger for his customers. But according to Michael Delligati, McDonalds at first didn't see the need to expand on their menu of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, french fries and shakes. But when sales of the sandwich exploded in Delligatti's stores, the franchise added it to it's national menu in 1968.

I find it hard to believe that Big Mac's weren't around from the beginning of the franchise. I mean can you imagine going into a McDonalds and only being able to get those tiny soggy burgers they have? No quarter pounders even? Nowadays, you can get almost anything you can imagine at McDonalds. Chicken, Fish, Salads. I'm not saying it's good for you, but there is a variety.

So if you are so inclined, please have yourself a Big Mac this week to celebrate the life and times of Jim Delligatti. I'd join you if I could.

2) In one of those ironies that life throws at you sometimes, another food pioneer who created a dish I can't eat also died at 98 this week.

Peng Chang-kuei, a Taiwanese chef who is credited with creating General Tso's Chicken died Wednesday in Taipei.

In late 1992/early 1993, I went to see somebody about a part time job after eating Chinese food for dinner. It wasn't like a formal job interview or anything, just a friend of a friend who was looking for someone to help out for a few extra bucks.

But the whole time I was sitting there talking to the guy, my stomach was doing cartwheels and I had enough gas to end an energy crisis. I told my parents I was done was Chinese food (especially after I didn't get the gig)

From 1993, till I started working at the Post, I avoided Chinese food. Why I started again at the Post? So many late nights of working, I had to branch out. I even broke a vow I made to Auggie and tried Indian Food. (Never again)

In any event, General Tso's chicken became a particular favorite of mine.Lightly battered chicken fried in a chili accented sweet and sour sauce, According to the NY Times on Friday:

 .. he created the dish during a four-day visit by Adm. Arthur W. Radford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during the Taiwan Strait crisis of 1955. On the spur of the moment, he assigned it the name of a Hunanese general, Zuo Zongtang, who had helped put down a series of rebellions in the 19th century.


This stuff could knock you for a loop if they put too much sauce on it. I'm a real wimp when it comes to food.  The great Billy Gorta once said "You're not eatin if your not sweatin." It doesn't take much for my innards to burn. I once sniffed a plate of death wings at Pluck U down on LaGuardia Place, and I thought my face was going to come off like the bad guys at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. (The three of four pitchers of beer I put away at Phoebe's probably also contributed to that)

But General Tso's chicken I could handle. I usually only had to have half a dozen glasses of water to wash it down. It's now on the list of food I can't eat (or can have every once in a blue moon) in order to keep on truckin at is were. So after you toast the Big Mac inventor, have a General Tso's chicken dish. But before you do any of that, make sure you stock up on antacids. I'm thinking the inventor of those is already long dead.

SPORTS: Cespedes returns!

I have to admit I was thrilled the other day when I heard the Mets were able to resign Yoenis Cespedes, even though he stands for some of the things I can't stand about athletes. He can be lazy and aloof, and his stunt last year with driving all different cars to spring training was annoying. And he once again, when the chips were down, came up short in the big game, just like he did in the World Series in 2015

I wish he had just decided to take the contract he signed last year and be happy with it, instead of opting out, but at the end of the day, all he really ended up doing was getting himself a couple more years and a no trade clause. The annual money was about the same.

And let's face it, there is something to be said for someone who wants to play in Queens. The Yankees have the history and the championships. LA has the nice weather, Miami has the large Cuban population. Washington was supposedly offering similar money, and the thought of Cespedes doing to us what Daniel Murphy did last year gave me stomach aches.

I know what the man is capable of. When he is on, he can carry the team on his back. His August 2015 was one of the most amazing months I've ever seen any ball player have, much less a Met.

I just need to see him do it when the money is on the table. If the pitching can come back and stay healthy, we'll get the chance to see if he can.

That's all from here

Have a great Week

Weekly Mail November 27, 2016

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I had a blast because 1) Tara didn't have to work and 2) I got to have dinner with my in-laws and dessert with my side of the family. To get to see everybody made it a special day.

Last year, you may recall, I attempted to play soccer at Oceanside Park, with disastrous results. At least this year, I stayed home and watched the parade. That way, I wasn't hobbling around all weekend.

NEWS ITEM: Black (and Blue) Friday

Flashback: Guess what city and state will report the first major injuries from Black Friday trampling, win valuable prizes.-Weekly Mail: November 20, 2016. 

      The first report of casualties I saw from Black Friday came from Atlantic City, NJ. Followed by Reno, NV. (I went shopping in Reno just to watch someone die)

Now, some of you may think me an insensitive a-hole for making light of Black Friday violence. And maybe I shouldn't. I abhor violence of all kinds, my heart breaks when any innocent person is a victim of violence, be it gun violence, knife violence whatever.

Some innocent person getting killed in a drive by shooting? That's a tragedy.

Someone getting killed in a fight over a Tickle Me Elmo doll at 5 AM on Black Friday?

I'm sorry, that's not such a tragedy.

What THAT is, is senseless violence that is perpetrated by the stores themselves, with their obnoxious commercials, and their decision to set their hours either in the wee hours of Friday morning, or worse late Thanksgiving night.

And here's the dirty little secret that nobody wants you to know.. There is nothing that you need to buy on Black Friday at that ridiculous hour that you can't get some other time, at the same discounted price. The idea that you have to beat the crap out of someone to get a gift at that hour because you won't be able to either 1) get that item or 2) get it at that price is absurd.

I remember as a kid watching the news with my mom and dad on a summer Sunday night, and without fail at least once a summer, there would be a story about a plane crashing during an airshow that killed the pilot and multiple people on the ground. "It happens every year " they would say "and yet, they'll do it again."

Same thing with Black Friday, multiple deaths every year. But next year, get there early.

OBITUARIES:

1) Florence Henderson: Most of us were not yet born (or too young to remember) when The Brady Bunch was a prime time show on ABC, but we all remember the afternoon reruns on Channel 5 or 11 when we were growing up. Even though the Brady Bunch wore the clothes and hairstyles of their time, (and thank the Lord those shirts, pants and man-perms all stayed right there in the 70's) the message of family unity and learning from mistakes transcend time. A family led by a kind, loving mom who was tough when she needed to be, but always fair.

That was Carol Brady, played to perfection by Florence Henderson.

Like Robert Reed, who played her on screen husband Mike Brady. Henderson had several credits to her name before the Brady Bunch, and was a multi talented actress and singer. Unlike Reed, she didn't seem to harbor any resentment over the Brady Bunch role being her defining moment. When Reed died in 1992, many of his obits claimed that he hated the role of Mike Brady and complained to anyone who would listen that he was a classically trained Shakespearean actor)

She embraced the idea of being a mother that everyone could look up to. There is something to be said about that. She'll be missed.

2) Ron Glass- AKA Detective Harris on Barney Miller.  I can't remember who it was, but I remember when NYPD Blue was on, I was talking to a retired cop. He was saying that while the cases that the cops on Blue were working on were realistic, the way those cops spoke to each other was totally unrealistic. "No cop talks like that" my friend told me. "Do you know what cop show is the most realistic in terms of how cops really carry themselves?"

Hill Street Blues? Kojak? I asked

\

Barney Miller was the response.

The grimy police station, the off the wall characters they arrested, not to mention the off the wall characters that worked there. You know what? I believe it.

Ron Glass played Det. Ron Harris, the squad's lone African American and aspiring novelist. A guy who at times seemed more interested in writing than in doing his job (something I can relate to). Barney Miller was one of the great ensemble shows of the 70's if not all time. It's definitely one of my favorite old shows, and Harris was a big part of that. Sad to hear of his passing.

Last and Least

3) Fidel Castro- Readers of this blog know that although I believe that President Obama often has his heart in the right place, sometimes it leads him to decisions that I don't believe are in our best interests.

His decision to normalize relations with Cuba, without winning concessions on human rights violations and turning over exiles hiding there, was another decision that I felt could have been better handled.

What Fidel Castro did to the people of Cuba for the past 57 years is disgraceful. And don't take my word for it, ask any Cuban exile, go see how they are whooping it up in Miami as if the Dolphins finally won another Super Bowl, now that the cigar chomping dictator finally died at age 90.

Castro had baffled every US President from Eisenhower to Bush 43. (His brother Raul has ruled Cuba for the past 10 years). He had provided aid and comfort to our enemies, in addition to the brutality he imposed on the Cuban people.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who seems like a nice enough guy, praised Castro in a statement, which I find baffling. President Obama said he hoped that relations will continue to improve between the two nations.

I do too. Sending back cop killer Joanne Chesmard would go a long way to doing that. Fidel Castro dying this weekend? That will probably help as well.

I promised to finish these up on a positive note, (and I apologize for bringing in a little bit of politics on the Castro thing) so here goes.

My assignment for Thanksgiving was to bake an apple pie.

Now my late grandmother baked what pretty much anyone who ever tasted it swore was the best apple pie ever. I knew going into this project that I wasn't going to match, let alone top her masterpiece. Still I picked the brains of my sister and my aunt, who have done pretty well at replicating the Grandma Gallagher masterpiece.

So last Sunday we made our first attempt at it. I learned a few lessons from my first foray into the family business. 1) I needed to cut the apples smaller, because they we sticking out through the crust. 2) I needed to roll the dough out a bit more because I barely had enough to cover the pie.

It tasted all right, but it wasn't aesthetically pleasing.

I tried again on Tuesday, this time making extra dough and cutting down the apples. It actually looked more like an apple pie, though still a far cry from Krissy or Aunt Dot's. I plan on trying again for Christmas.

Stay safe out there my friends

And Have a Great Week

Weekly Mail November 20,2016

Hey:

Last Sunday, I went to Donovan's with Tara, Timmy and my mother and father in law. We were given the royal treatment from Jimmy Jakes and Danny Connor.  They made me feel like a celebrity there, and it felt like home.

I was back there again Sunday to celebrate my Aunt's birthday. Once again, we got treated like celebrities. Donovan's is amazing!

What made it extra special to be back in the old hangout was that my favorite nights at Donovan's was the big boozefest they had the night before Thanksgiving. Between 1993 and 2005 just about every Thanksgiving Eve was spent, either in part or totally on the corner of 58th and Roosevelt Avenue.

Future spouses met, light fixtures were broken, nicknames were created. There were hook-ups, throw ups and lots and lots and lots of laughs,

One year when I was in college, there was a girl I was sort of interested in. I asked her if she wanted to come to Donovan's for Thanksgiving Eve, and she was kind of going back and forth on it. In the end she said no, and it was probably just as well. Donovan's was a great place to take a date, but not on Thanksgiving Eve.

Another year, when I had just started working my first job out of school, we decided to do dinner before we started pounding. It made me feel somewhat grown up, as opposed to eating dinner at home and rolling out about 9 or 10 PM,

The year after that, we all showed up after Ray and Maureen's rehearsal dinner. It was the kickoff to what would go down as one of my favorite weekends of all time.

The next year I must have overdid it because on the train up to my Aunt's house in Poughkeepsie I felt like said train had run me over. The year after that, I deliberatly cut myself off around 2 AM, (Though I stayed out till last call.) The year after that, I went to see a co-worker of mine who was also an actress perform in an off Broadway musical, after which I high tailed it to Donovan's. A couple of years after that, in 2004, I staggered into the city to meet who would become my future in laws, after a night of partying. Somehow, despite a ripping hangover, I pulled it off, because the following year, we got married.

Now I usually spent Thanksgiving Eve, either baking something for the next day, or just hanging out at the house. Occasionally we'll head out for dinner, but those crazy Thanksgiving Eve's are a thing of the past.

From what I can remember, they were a lot of fun.


TELEVISION: Thanks for nothing Oprah!

I am proud to say that I have never watched one episode of that creep Dr. Phil's hideous program. And I normally wouldn't even waste ink on him, but this week he sank to a new low.

Dr. Dirtbag advertised all week that he was going to have Shelley Duvall on his program on Friday. Duvall, most famous for playing Wendy Torrance, Jack Nicholson's wife in The Shining, has apparently had some sort of mental breakdown in her later years. She looks about 20 years older than her 67 years, she believes her co-star in Popeye, the late Robin Williams is still alive,  as well as other hopeless rantings.

My understanding is that Dr. Phil McGraw emerged from Oprah Winfrey's stable of "talent" along with the likes of CBS This Morning's co-host Gayle King, Dr. Oz and Rachel Ray.

McGraw, more than the others, seems to cater to the lowest common denominator. In the guise of helping those who genuinely need psychological counseling, he seems more intent on exploiting said patients in order to boost his ratings.

He's been doing it for years. But this whole thing with Shelley Duvall seemed to really hit a nerve.

With guys like Maury Povich and Jerry Springer, there is no pretense. Springer is looking for inbred married relatives to come on stage and beat the crap out of each other. Maury is looking for people who are crazy enough to have DNA test results read out loud in front of a studio audience. The illusion that these guys are looking to help is thin to non existent.

But McGraw is a licensed clinical psychologist. He actually has the ability to help people. He might be able to help someone like Duvall get better. He could do it in the privacy of his office. Instead he trots the poor thing out on syndicated TV.

Sad. And shameful.




Guess what city and state will report the first major injuries from Black Friday trampling, win valuable prizes.



OK OK, let me try to finish this up on a positive or funny note.



Timmy had cultural day at his school on Friday, and the class was tasked with bringing in food that has to do with their culture. Since I couldn't send him in with a case of Guinness, Tara and I (well, Tara) had to whip our man up an Irish Soda Bread.

Full disclosure: I really don't like Irish Soda Bread.

My Aunt Eileen used to make an Irish Soda Bread that made the house smell wonderful.Hers I could eat  But in general, I just could never get into it. I find in very dry, and even with some butter, I just really didn't dig it.

Now add to that, the fact that all dishes had to be nut, gluten and dairy free to aviod all possible food allergies, and what we sent our son into class with might have been the worst Irish Soda Bread in the history of ISB. Donald Trump could have used it to build his wall along the Rio Grande.

Now, before you all go running to Tara to say that I was making fun of her cooking, please let me once again remind you all that she did the best she could under the circumstances. Gluten free + Dairy Free = Flavor free, so we never stood a chance here. I told Tara that we should have put a note with the Soda Bread stating "The Irish are not known for their culinary skills."

Have a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving

And have a Great Week!

Weekly Mail November 13, 2016

Hey There:


Now that the election is over, it's going to be a scramble to find interesting things to write about. Sports and elections make up so much of what I write about. You know how I feel about the NFL, I know how most of you feel about the NHL. The NBA? I'll watch an occasional Knick game, but not too much.

Timmy started playing CYO basketball, which should be very interesting. Lord knows he can get up and down the court with ease.

I wrote an election wrap up, but I didn't post it. I really tried to play it
down the middle. I didn't post it because things are very raw right now. Here is the link if you are interested.

http://weeklymailfb.blogspot.com/2016/11/election-wrap-up.html?m=1

As I say in the article, I really don't want to lose any friends over this. Nobody is worth that. Especially not any political figures.


FLASHBACK:


With all the hoopla regarding the election happening, an anniversary passed last week that I really didn't see much mention about. But it's something that I remember clear as day, and I think, anyone who saw it would remember too. But time and medical advances have rendered the story, well if not irrelevant, not nearly what we thought it was going to be.

25 years ago, November 7, 1991. I was driving somewhere with my mom and dad, and Mike and the Mad Dog were reporting that Magic Johnson was announcing his retirement from the NBA. They had no idea why. He had missed the Lakers first couple of games, and if I recall correctly, Francessa and Russo speculated on a leg injury. (According to the great Jeff Pearlman's book Showtime, the press announced that Magic was out with the flu). On the radio, they kept saying how they couldn't believe Magic was hanging it up at the age of 32, coming off a trip to the Finals. They kept saying how they couldn't believe it, and they were driving my poor mother crazy. "These guys retire all the time, what's the big surprise?"

That came a couple of minutes later..

Stan Martyn, was the sports director at WFAN. He also did the updates for Mike and the Mad Dog every half hour. This time he broke in and once again announced that Magic Johnson was retiring from the Lakers, because he tested positive for the AIDS virus.

Silence on the radio.

OK, now that's a surprise my mom said.

Wow! Said the Mad Dog.

We were on 51st Avenue, right near where IS 5 is now.  Shock ran through me.

My first thought went back to May 9 earlier that year. Johnny Carson had Michael Landon on the Tonight Show that night. Landon had recently announced he was battling pancreatic cancer. He came out that night and joked that he had his hair, makeup and blood transfusion done back stage before the show. He looked like nothing was wrong. He said he would beat it.

2 months later, he was dead. But watching him with Johnny that night, I had no idea I was watching a dead man walking.

And now, four months after Landon died, I felt like I was watching another dead man walking.

There wasn't a TV Station in America, if not the world, that didn't carry the presser.

Magic came out and said "Um because of the HIV virus which I have attained, I'm going to have to retire from the Lakers."  Throughout the press conference, he was calm and smiling and confident, much the same way Landon had been with Carson. But at that point AIDS was undefeated. If you had it, you weren't going to live very long. Now, of course I have to mention that Magic had tested HIV positive, he didn't have AIDS, but at that point they generally went hand in hand.

When I was younger, adults all the time would say "You couldn't possibly understand, unless you were there." This was about big events, tragedies like the Kennedy assassination, or triumphs like the moon landing. I didn't understand why they would say that, of course I understood.

But I didn't, and as good as a writer as I like to think I am, I can't put into words what this announcement was like.

I now work with people who weren't even alive that day. They don't understand that HIV meant eventually full blown AIDS which meant a horrible painful death. To them, HIV means you can control the disease, that you can keep it from becoming full blown AIDS. That you can live a long time after you first get infected.

They don't understand that nobody watching that press conference or reading about it in the papers and magazines the next several days thought that Magic Johnson would live another 10 years, never mind the fact that 25 years later, he is still alive and strong, a part owner of the Dodgers.

I was by no means, a Lakers fan, but for a long time, I considered Magic to be the greatest player of all time. A 6'9 natural point guard who could play all 5 positions on the floor, Magic made passes that had to be seen to be believed. But you didn't have to be Jack Nicholson or Dyan Cannon to feel sick about what Magic announced that day. 25 years ago.


NEWS ITEM: McSorley's Closes Down

In a week where we all could have used a few glasses of personality, McSorley's Old Ale House, a Greenwich Village Haunt founded in 1854, was shut down by the DOH.  The health concerns that were raised include "Rats, food held at the wrong temperature, and conditions conducive to "vermin and pest activity" Sounds gross.

But in defense of the joint, what do you expect of a place that's been around since before the Civil War started? Now that they gentrified downtown, the rats need a place to go.

And who goes there to eat? That place is a pure booze bar, and the idea is to get nice and drunk on those pale and dark beers, then maybe you won't notice the rats and mice.

In any event, here's hoping they can get rid of the rats and mice and re-open sooner than later.


On that note, Bon Appetit

Hang in there.

Have a Great Week.