Music

and other confessions from the Music Never Stops Yes, I'll admit it...I once decked a guy during a Grateful Dead concert at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. In my defense, I was young and probably not very smart because he was bigger and drunk or something and hanging all over the back of my floor seat. I told him a few times to give me space, but he was doing his version of the Dead Dance and oblivious to everyone around him. When he landed on top of me, I turned around and g

Here's some more songs that were covered by other artists that some feel are better than the original (or worse) - Let me know what you think: Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers redone by Octavius Womack Into the Mystic by Van Morrison redone by Tommy Miller You Really Got Me by the Kinks redone by Van Halen Higher Ground by Stevie Wonder redone by Red Hot Chili Peppers Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran redone by the Who Whiskey in the Jar by Thin Lizzy redone by Metallica Tur

You asked for more trivia and true facts so happy to continue this series. Thank you for the comments and suggestions. Without further ado: Christopher Walken Christopher Walken worked as a lion tamer when he was 16 years old before entering acting. His favorite lion was a female named Sheba, who he described as very sweet. Harrison Ford landed the role of Han Solo by sheer dumb luck. He was working as a carpenter, installing a door for Francis Ford Coppola when George Lucas

Proud of the Old Girl! America 250 marks the 250th anniversary of our nation's independence, commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. This date marked the birth of the United States as a free nation. We were smaller back then - only about 2.5 million of us living in the United States in 1776. We must have done something right because we've grown to approximately 343 million people in 2026. It's a great place to live! Every month on ave

To Sleep, perchance to dream... I have a bit of a confession. I'm a lousy sleeper and have been doing some research on getting a better night's sleep. It turns out I'm doing it all wrong... :). I'm one of those people whose head hits the pillow and I'm out within a minute or two, but then I wake up a few hours later and can't fall back asleep. I average about 5-6 hours of sleep a night. Sleep websites recommend 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night, but it's easier said than done

The Morning Call newspaper has published the dates and times for firework displays and events in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas for the upcoming Independence Day celebration: FIREWORKS Allentown: 9:15 p.m. July 4, J. Birney Crum Stadium. Bethlehem: Concert by the Bethlehem Municipal Band, 7:30 p.m. July 4, Payrow Plaza, City Hall, 12 E. Church St., followed by fireworks 9 p.m. from Sand Island. Berks County: 9:30 p.m. July 4. Part of Berks County Star-Spangled Specta

Special Edition of Trivia True Facts We're going to do a special edition of Trivia True Facts taken from various sources including but not limited to The Book of Useless Information, That's a Fact, Jack, True Facts that Sound Like Bulls#*t, Incredible Pointless Trivia and Wait, Really?! 1001 Bizarre Facts That Sound Completely Made Up. We're going to call this one, "You thought your Uncle Arnold Was Weird, eh? Wait Until you read these facts about famous people who were prof

Since I didn't hit the lottery last year with my Lotto rap song, I've been thinking about money a bit. The idea of saving/wasting money came up a few times in this last week: A good friend of mine just paid off his home - he and his wife are young, and they made double payments on their mortgage and was able to go mortgage free before they turned 40! So very proud of their achievement. My wife and I were eating at a restaurant and when it came time to pay the bill, the serv

Here's some more songs that were covered by other artists that some feel are better than the original (or worse) - Let me know what you think: Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones redone by Dani Faye Free Fallin' by Tom Petty redone by Willow Bay Hey Jealousy by the Gin Blossoms redone by The Ergs! Losing My Religion by R.E.M. redone by Dia Frampton Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden redone by Copeland Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd redone by the Deftones Hey Jude by the Beatles redone

This one's for you, Luke Our son Luke is pretty techie. He asked me to do a post on Quantum Computing - I said, "The people who read my blog may not like a techie post." But we love our son and he thinks you'll like it, so we're going to give it a shot. LUKE I didn't know ANYTHING about Quantum Computing before today - I did my research. It's actually pretty cool. But I had to understand it like I was 10 years old, so that's where I started this. We're gonna talk Quantum c

“Excuse me while I kiss this guy.” We all love music. And with the exception of that Billy Joel song with all those words, we can pretty much sing along with the artists - I AM working on We Didn't Start the Fire but have a better chance of performing brain surgery than remembering the whole thing: Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny Ray South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Television North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Mo

There's one thing about Americans - we love our vehicles. From a very young age, the idea of turning 16 and having the freedom to go out for a drive was one of the greatest experiences of a teenager's life. It didn't matter if it was alone or with friends, music blasting, rolling down the highway became a rite of passage for us. There's a song called Radar Love by Golden Earring that just epitomizes driving: I've been drivin' all night, my hands wet on the wheel There's a v

You asked for more trivia and true facts so happy to continue this series. Thank you for the comments and suggestions. Without further ado: Mars isn’t actually round. Unlike any other rocky planet in the Solar System, Mars is actually shaped like a rugby ball, but with different sizes along all three axes. The raw ingredients of a human body would cost over $154,732.00. But if you’re prepared to do the refining yourself, a body could cost a lot less – under $133.00 in fact. W

Here's some more songs that were covered by other artists and some feel are better than the original (or worse) - Let me know what you think: Santeria by Sublime redone by Microwave Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks redone by Alex Melton (Pop Punk Cover) Wide Open Spaces by Dixie Chicks redone by Soccer Mommy Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance redone by Elder Brother Brain Stew/Jaded by Green Day redone by Four Year Strong You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch by

What do you want before you die? Those of us in the Lehigh Valley have seen vast improvements in the City of Allentown over the past several years. There has been a surge of urban revitalization efforts to clean up streets, renovate existing buildings, new construction of office buildings, apartments and restaurants. When Billy Joel released the song Allentown in 1982, he lamented about the area closing factories, and a restlessness that made it hard to stay in the area. W

You asked for more trivia and true facts so happy to continue this series. Thank you for the comments and suggestions. Without further ado: Hey fathead! The brain is the fattiest organ in the body, hovering in at around 60% fat. Anti-climb paint was developed as a non-drying, greasy security coating. It never fully hardens and lasts over three years. It's used to make any surface it's applied to nearly impossible to climb and to deter access. (Hmmm...where could this be used

Our son Rob, Daughter-in-Law Ali, and their Samoyed, Renly, have closed up their home in Elizabethtown and are moving to the West Loop of Chicago today. They will be starting a new and exciting chapter in their lives as Ali begins her six-year plastic surgical residency at the University of Illinois Hospital Chicago and Rob will continue his work with Merck remotely. Rob, Ali and Renly This move is the latest in a grand adventure for this young couple. Rob and the good docto

Nic and Aria Our daughter, Aria has been living in Cape Town, South Africa for the past few years. Her job allows her to work just about anywhere that has internet connection. She's been fortunate to travel to several places within the United States and several countries including Mexico, Colorado, Portugal, Egypt, Morocco, Spain and now South Africa. A few years ago, Aria met a gentleman by the name of Henry when she first landed in Cape Town, SA. Henry's family owns the s

Meet Alexa+, the Sassy little device I can say with some confidence that our family is connected. That's not to say that we have Gambino blood relatives, but more in a technological way. I've been reading a book called The Complete Beginner's Guide to AI: Your Easy Guide to Artificial Intelligence by Gloria Lembo. If you believe everything you read in the book, AI is the greatest thing since, well, sliced bread. I'm reading it on an Amazon Kindle that's connected to the Int

In Honor and Remembrance Howard William Osterkamp from Dent, Ohio, was a Korean War veteran and Purple Heart recipient who is attributed with the phrase: "All gave some, some gave all." "All gave some" acknowledges that every man and woman who serve or have served in the military contributed in some way, whether through time, effort, or personal sacrifice. "Some gave all" honors those who made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their lives in service to their country. Memorial D

You asked for more trivia and true facts so happy to continue this series. Thank you for the comments and suggestions. Without further ado: Gate Tower Building in Osaka Japan is a 16-story building with a unique characteristic. It has a highway that runs through the middle of it! Bart Simpson was not named after anyone that Matt Groening knew. It's an anagram of the word "BRAT". Doh! Message in a Bottle. The world's oldest message in a bottle was discovered on the shore of

Penn State College of Medicine held its 56th commencement ceremony this past weekend at Hersey Lodge in Hershey, Pennsylvania. If you follow our posts regularly, you may remember that our daughter-in-law, Ali, was a med student at Penn State College of Medicine. Ali went through the Match Day process back in March and was accepted into the Plastic Surgery residency program at University of Illinois Chicago, her first choice! She will be beginning her surgical residency progr

What do Vera Wang, Eddie Money, Jerry Orbach, Julia Child, Martha Stewart, Samuel L. Jackson, Grandma Moses, J.K. Rowling, Ray Kroc, Stan Lee, Harrison Ford, Michael Bloomberg, Terry Crews, John Glenn, Jeff Bezos, Colonel Sanders, Tom Clancy, Ronald Reagan, Laura Ingallis Wilder and Taikichiro Mori have in common? If you guessed a love for sushi or a handlebar mustache, I'd seriously recommend changing your meds and calling an analyst for therapy. All of the abovementioned i

What's bugging you, snookie? Life was simpler in the old days. Running from dinosaurs, making fires, hunting and gathering - you pretty much knew what was expected to survive. Modern life has made things easier in some ways, but we seem to have a new crop of inconveniences and things to whine, complain and basically grouse about. You would think with all the brain power and smart people in the world today, we'd FIX stuff that seems to universally annoy us. I'm sure each of

In 1968, Director Stanely Kubrick released a film called 2001: A Space Odyssey. The movie outlined the story of a spacecraft called Discovery One and its journey to Jupiter. The spacecraft's operations were controlled by HAL 9000, which was an onboard computer with a human-like personality. At some point, HAL 9000 makes a judgement about a problem it found with the ship and the astronauts aboard disagree with HAL's assessment. The resulting conflict between man and machine

Life's a lot There's a lot going on lately. Among my small circle of friends, I see a lot of suffering. In the last year or two, I've had friends lose a parent, a spouse, a child, a sister or brother that were their best friend and deepest confidant. I've commiserated with friends that lost a pet they loved as much as a member of their immediate family. I've had friends diagnosed with cancer, or struggling to recover from debilitating surgeries or illnesses. I've got frie

To my readers.... I've hit a couple of milestones - it was one year ago on Tuesday that I decided to retire. I wasn't sure if I was ready, but because of changes with the merger at my work as well as completing a communications conversion project, it seemed fitting. There have been fits and starts since that time, but I've managed to find a bit of a groove where I don't feel the need to fill my entire day with activities. I've been able to stay in touch with friends from wor

Nothing like a cool cover song Continuing the series of songs covered by other artists. Some you'll love, some you'll hate, that's what makes the world go around! Crazy by Gnaris Barkey redone by Ray Laontagne Changes by Black Sabbath redone by Charles Bradley Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden redone by Norah Jones Shakedown Street by The Grateful Dead redone by Poolside You Keep Me Hanging On by the Supremes redone by Vanilla Fudge Rocket Man by Elton John redone by Kate Bush

Albert Einstein on his 72nd birthday It's a rainy Hump Day here in PA...! Here's a list of great quotes from some of history's greatest thinkers, celebrities and that guy named "anonymous" compiled, edited, reassembled and polished up from various websites and sources, including Medium, Discover Walks, ThatOneRule and the Awesome Daily. "The old believe everything. The middle-aged suspect everything, the young know everything." Oscar Wilde "To succeed in life, you need tw

Bob Joe This is a story about an underground newspaper. It's also about a friendship that has survived over fifty years. For the unacquainted, an underground newspaper is defined as a small-scale, alternative publication that operates outside official approval or mainstream media control, often produced and distributed without government or institutional oversight. Historically, the term has been used in two main contexts: Clandestine or resistance publications Countercultur

Here's some more songs that were covered by other artists and some feel are better than the original - Let me know what you think: Sweet Jane done by the Velvet Underground redone by Cowboy Junkies Cocaine by J.J. Cale redone by Eric Clapton Dancing in the Moonlight by Boffalongo redone by King Harvest Everybody's Talkin by Fred Neil redone by Harry Nilsson Hound Dog by Big Mamma Thorton redone by Elvis Presley Make you Feel My Love by Bob Dylan redone by Adele Some Kind of W

More True Facts and Trivia adapted from various sources including Readers Digest, That's a Fact, Jack! and True Facts that Sound Like Bull$#*t You asked for more trivia and true facts so happy to continue this series. Thank you for the comments and suggestions. Without further ado: A New York City Restaurant sells a $2,700.00 pizza! Industry Kitchens in NYC South Street Seaport holds the Guinness record for the world's most expensive pizza. It must be ordered two days in adv

A humorous weekend in the City of Brotherly Love From the rooftop of the Logan Hotel - Philadelphia My wife and I celebrated our anniversary by staying at a very nice hotel in center city, Philadelphia for an extended weekend. We're both music lovers and came to see a show on Saturday night at South Jazz Club on Broad Street in Philly. She also made arrangements for a couples massage at the hotel where we were staying. Before going, I practiced my best Philly accent, ate s

Nothing like a cool cover song From the feedback I've received so far, this is going to be a popular series! Here's some more songs that were covered by other artists and some feel are better than the original - Let me know what you think: Nothing Compares to 2 U by Prince, redone by Sinead O'Connor. I Will Always Love You by Dolly Parton redone by Whitney Houston. Blinded by the Light by Bruce Springsteen redone by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Dazed and Confused by Jake Holmes

In our beloved Pittsburgh! Imagine 32 different billion-dollar companies lining up to pick the best new employees that are graduating college but instead of them looking at resumes, these potential employees bring highlight reels, 40-yard dash times and the ability to bench press a refrigerator. Each spring since 1936, the NFL holds a giant event called the Draft. The Draft allows NFL teams the opportunity to take turns selecting college players to join their teams. The wor

Our daughter in Capetown recently sent me an article by Omar Najjarine published on Substack called, Of course you can't focus. You live a life of permanent interruption with a subheading of Why we can't think clearly anymore. If you subscribe to Substack, I urge you to check out the entire article because I won't be able to do it justice in a short blog post. The original article is over 3,800 words. It has been said that the average attention span of a person today is abo

More True Facts and Trivia adapted from various sources including That's a Fact, Jack! and True Facts that Sound Like Bull$#*t You asked for more trivia and true facts so happy to continue this series. Thank you for the comments and suggestions. One reader in particular asked for some historical trivia, so some is included here. Without further ado: Bran Castle in Transylvania is called Dracula's Castle. In Romania, a storybook castle once held Vlad III, better known as Vlad

Cool Cover Songs Part 2 Here's some more songs that were covered by other artists and some feel are better than the original - Let me know what you think: Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen redone by Jeff Buckley All Along the Watchtower by Bob Dylan redone by Jimi Hendrix Hurt by Nine Inch Nails redone by Johnny Cash Africa by Toto redone by Weezer Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits redone by Leo Moracchioli and featuring Mary Spender. (Leo is a personal favorite of mine and does a L

Nothing like a cool cover song Several years ago, we had a few friends over and played our version of "Name that Tune" where you'd play a few seconds of a song and have them guess the name of the song and the artist. One guy at the party was incredibly talented at it and could often name the song in like 5 seconds of hearing the intro. It started a second discussion about bands that do cover versions of other people's songs and that some of the remakes are better than the or

Fanciest Data Room I've ever seen Nerd Alert - Yes, it's going to be one of those posts - run away if you don't like technology blogs. But I'm going to make this one seem interesting even if you're a total technophobe. You pick up your phone to look for a photo, turn on your computer to search the web, surf Netflix to pick a movie, or perhaps check your email. Does the Internet Fairy bring you this information? While there's always that possibility, your request is probably

The crew of Artemis II Friday was a proud day for America. The crew of Artemis II, Reid Wiseman : Commander, Victor Glover : Pilot, Christina Koch : Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen : Mission Specialist successfully returned to earth on Friday April 10th, 2026, at 8:07PM. The Artemis II mission was our first foray into space with a crewed flight around the Moon in over 50 years. The trip's nearly ten-day mission started on April 1st at Kennedy Space Center and concluded whe

Michael Jackson released a song in January 1988 called Man in the Mirror that appeared on his "Bad" album. Part of the lyrics are: I'm starting with the man in the mirror I'm asking him to change his ways And no message could have been any clearer If you want to make the world a better place Take a look at yourself, and then make a change This past winter, I was going through photo albums and came across a photograph of my oldest son as a toddler sitting in the bathroom with

More True Facts and Trivia adapted from various sources including That's a Fact, Jack! and True Facts that Sound Like Bull$#*t You asked for more trivia and true facts so happy to continue this series. Thank you for the comments and suggestions. Without further ado: Despite not existing, the Unicorn is the "National Animal" of Scotland. Venus spins clock forward and no one knows why. The rest of the planets in our solar system spin counterclockwise. We almost nuked the moon.

Thinking about cutting the cord? My grandfather had a little Zenith 10-inch television on his back patio where we used to watch Phillies games during the summer. It was my job to adjust the rabbit ear antenna to get the clearest picture possible. Somewhere along the way, we added aluminum foil to the top of the little antenna ears to make it better. Eventually, he got a house antenna mounted on the roof and we ran coax cable down to the back porch. Despite my grandmother c

Resurrection Sunday Wishing all my readers a Happy Easter Sunday on this holiest of days.

Artemis 2 - We have liftoff! For the first time since 1972, the United States of America has launched a crewed space journey to go around the moon. At 1835 hours (6:35 p.m.) on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, a crew of three American and one Canadian astronaut lifted off from 39B launch site at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the Orion spacecraft sitting atop the SLS (Space Launch System). This rocket system stands 322 feet tall and generates 8.8 MILLION pounds of t

Rock-Ola Bubbler Harley-Davidson Digital Music Center Jukebox Some people collect stamps. Other people like old coins. My wife and I have always been fans of music and have transitioned over the years from albums, cassettes and 8-tracks to hundreds of CDs and now MP3 and streaming services. Several years ago, we commissioned Rock-ola in California to build the Bubbler Harley-Davidson Digital Music Center jukebox pictured above. Each jukebox is built by hand and if you were

Cranberry anyone? Left to right, Jeff Aulich, Jimmy Dormire, Randy Threet, Henry Paul IV, Henry Paul. Not pictured, Mike Bailey and Dave Robbins Penns Peak hosted the American Southern rock band, the Outlaws this past Friday night. The Outlaws are from Tampa, Florida and have been around for more than 50 years with various band members coming and going during their tours. I saw them in 1976 at the Scope in Norfolk Virginia and again in 1979 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.

What has 8 legs and looks like Mr. Potato Head? You're probably wondering why a post on Octopuses? Part of the creative nonfiction class that I'm taking at LCCC is required reading of a book by Sy Montgomery entitled The Soul of an Octopus. I read quite a variety of different genres but have never come across this New York Times bestseller before and quite frankly, I'm intrigued by the content. Montgomery's book explores how surprisingly intelligent octopuses are and goes int

Photo from thereviewgeek.com What do Yellowstone, 1923, 1883, Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, Lioness, Landman, The Road, U.S. Marshalls, The Madison, Wind River, Sicario, Hell or High Water among others have in common? They're all created, produced or written by Taylor Sheridan. I've been accused of being a fanboy for a few things in my life - Apple products, Harley Davidson, Veteran's rights, live music, Buddhism, Fender Guitars, Blues Music, Grateful D