Audiobooking December 2, 2014
Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Audiobooks, Baseball, Basketball, Broadway, Comedy, Commentary, Film, Health, Media, News, Personal, Politics, Radio, Sports, Theatre, TV.add a comment
While I may have indefinitely suspended photo album picture scanning, one constant since June has been audiobooks. What I’ve usually done is listen to a whole chapter while working out in the morning or on my portable elliptical machine in the afternoon. I only buy nonfiction and prefer that they are read by the author. I want to hear their words in their voice, not someone else’s, even if the author’s delivery is subpar.
This isn’t the first time I’ve listened to audiobooks. That goes back to a road trip with my parents and sister in January 1997, as we drove back from Florida. To show you how long ago that was, the audiobook was on cassettes. That book, The Hobbit, was the only time I’ve listened to fiction. It’s been all nonfiction since.
Between December 1997 – when I listened to The Big Show: A Tribute to ESPN’s SportsCenter – and June 2014, I would get an audiobook here and there, but I wasn’t a regular buyer. I didn’t exercise in the morning, either. That began in late March. It’s always best to get tough tasks out of the way early because your willpower drops as the day progresses. It helps to have something interesting to listen to while you’re working out, not something aggravating like politics and sports debate and discussion.
With all that in mind, I’ve listened to the following audiobooks, on CD or through Audible, since June:
- President Me: The America That’s In My Head by Adam Carolla (via CD) – an outline of all the things Adam would do to improve the United States if he were president
- Not Quite the Classics by Colin Mochrie (via Audible) – improvised stories based on the first and last lines of select novels and poems
- I’ll Be Back Right After This: My Memoir by Pat O’Brien (via Audible) – Pat’s memoir chronicled his early life, television career, and struggle with addiction. Knock on wood, Pat has been sober for six years and counting.
- Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious General by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard (via CD) – This is the latest in Bill and Martin’s “Killing” series that factually recounts the events of historical figures leading up to their tragic deaths. Their previous books focused on Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Jesus of Nazareth, respectively.
- Still Foolin’ ‘Em: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys? by Billy Crystal (via Audible) – Billy’s memoir ran the gamut of emotions, from funny to heartbreaking, recalling major events in each decade of his life as of publication last year. I learned things I never knew and recalled fond memories of what I already knew. The only downside to the book is that Billy peppered his liberal ideology throughout it, outlining his liberal points of view and maligning right-leaning personalities and media. I’m not a lockstep conservative, but I do tend to take criticism of or jokes about people, places, and things that I like personally. But I didn’t let that completely ruin the listening experience.
- Shatner Rules: Your Guide to Understanding the Shatnerverse and the World at Large by William Shatner with Chris Regan (via CD) – When I was searching for the next audiobook to listen to, as Still Foolin’ ‘Em was winding down, I recalled William Shatner had a memoir out called Up Till Now: The Autobiography. But then I noticed that Shatner Rules had come out later than Up Till Now. So, I opted for Shatner Rules instead. The big message I took from the book was to say “yes” to as many things as possible. “‘No’ closes doors,” William said. “‘Yes’ kicks them wide open.” Shatner briefly drifted into politics, too, but the environmental kind. His doomsday scenarios were frightening. I didn’t let that completely ruin the listening experience. (ding) Rule: I highly recommend Shatner Rules as either the written book or spoken audiobook.
- Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic Moments, and Assorted Hijinks by Dick Cavett (via Audible) – It was here that I did let politics completely ruin the listening experience. This is not a memoir. It is a compilation of Dick’s columns at The New York Times’ Opiniator blog. That structure is similar to that for Things That Matter, a compilation of Charles Krauthammer’s columns over his 30-year career to date. Charles is Dick’s polar opposite. But I didn’t know any of that until my second day of listening. And it was this rant of a column that Dick read for Brief Encounters – combined with frustration that the book was not what I expected – that led me to request a refund from Audible. Thankfully, they granted it. I did learn a few things, though, about Dick’s days writing for The Tonight Show. I also learned that Arthur Godfrey preferred to address only one member of the listening or viewing audience (“you”), not the entire audience (“everybody”).
- Scribe: My Life in Sports by Bob Ryan (via Audible) – I bought this in place of Brief Encounters. I’ve been listening for nearly a week and I’m enjoying it.
There will be more audiobooks to come in the weeks ahead as I continue to try to keep myself in shape.
2014 LIU Post & WCWP Homecoming, 2015 Hall of Fame Announcement October 21, 2014
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Technology, Video, Weather.4 comments
Other recaps: 2008, 2009, WCWP 50th Anniversary (2011), 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
Later in this recap, I share the aircheck from my Homecoming Weekend show and behind-the-scenes pictures from the pre-record. 2/26/18 UPDATE: I also combined the videos for this post into one YouTube video.
I was at LIU Post on Saturday for their annual Homecoming Day. Most of my time was spent at WCWP’s barbecue and the announcement of 2015 inductees to their Hall of Fame.
I arrived at WCWP at about 2:30 PM. After setting my equipment down in Studio 3, I walked to Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium to watch part of the 3rd quarter of the LIU Post Pioneers’ Homecoming game against the Saint Anselm Hawks.
Before taking pics by Bronko Pearsall Field, I grabbed a few shots of the carnival:
The press box:
WCWP alumni Jeff Kroll and Neil Marks called the game from the lower booth. Included to their right (screen left) were, from left to right, Joel Feltman, Zach Parker (facing away), and Phil Lebowitz.
Last year was going to be the press box’s last year, but it turned out not to be.
Unlike last year, I didn’t capture a Pioneers touchdown, but I did capture a kickoff return for Saint Anselm…
..
…and a run by Pioneers quarterback Steven Laurino:
The Pioneers went on to beat the Hawks by the score of 49-21.
I took the scenic route back to WCWP, which began at Post Hall:
It is home to ARP, or the Academic Resource Program, located on the lower level. It was the Academic Resource Center (ARC) while I was a student, from Fall 1999 to Fall 2003, and was one level higher.
My 35mm photo rescanning project recently included pictures from ARC events. And as I work my way through pics between the rest of 2000 and 2003, there will be many more. Without ARC/ARP, I would have had a tougher road to graduation.
The opposite side of Post Hall:
Riggs Hall:
Humanities Hall:
Humanities was home to many of my Media Arts classes. I also took English Composition, Philosophy, Political Science, Spanish, and Math for Elementary Education there.
The Winnick House:
The combined building of Life Science and Pell Hall:
I took Study Strategies on the Life Science side, and Human Geography and Earth Science on the Pell side.
Eventually, I made my way back to WCWP.
With the Homecoming game ending early, Maura “Bernie” Bernard had to start her show a half hour earlier than expected:
The same thing happened to me in 2008.
Let the show begin:
Steven Acevedo was one of many guests to drop in on Bernie’s show:
David Kaplan was another:
Moments before the 2015 WCWP Hall of Fame announcement, I video recorded the following aircheck from Bernie’s show, synced to my recording of the Internet stream:
As Ted David noted above, at 5PM, he announced the 2015 inductees to the WCWP Hall of Fame. Ted is himself an inductee, part of the 2014 HOF class.
The 2015 inductees are Jeff Kroll, Bruce Leonard, Bobby Guthenberg, and Mike Riccio. Yesterday was not only the 53rd anniversary of WCWP, but Bobby’s “53rd” birthday, as well. What better birthday present than induction into the WCWP Hall of Fame?
Here is the announcement:
After that, it was time to pose for pictures.
Here are Pete Bellotti, Dan Cox, Jeff Kroll, Bruce Leonard, Bobby Guthenberg, Mike Riccio, and Ted David:
Next is all the Hall of Famers that were present at Homecoming:
Frank D’Elia (2014), Ted (2014), Bobby G. (2015), Mike (2015), Bernie Bernard (2013), Jeff (2015), Bruce (2015):
One of two pictures of Ted and me:
Joel Feltman and Ted David:
The barbecue outside WCWP wouldn’t have been possible without Ryan Attard, Director of Alumni Relations and the LIU Post Alumni Association. After the HOF announcement, Ryan spoke with Bernie:
Here is how that looked and sounded:
Phil Lebowitz (center) with two current students: Deandre Wilson and Mike Nicosia:
After the above picture, I was Bernie’s next guest:
Two comments:
1) I probably shouldn’t have bitten the smooth jazz hand that could potentially feed me in the future.
2) I was nervously playing with one of the WCWP bracelets that Bernie’s sister Melissa made.
Steven Acevedo and Jett Lightning took turns reading the WCWP Rock Show concert calendar:
Here’s how that sounded:
Hearing Bernie play “Fire” by Arthur Brown in previous years made that song one of my favorites. When she played it this year, as heard above, after “I am the god of hellfire, and I bring you…!,” I jumped up and down excitedly for the first few bars before composing myself.
6PM marked the middle of WCWP’s Homecoming Weekend:
It began Friday at noon and ended Sunday night (yesterday morning) at midnight.
Thanks to Pat Kroll for bringing over this personalized Waldbaum’s sheet cake:
Pat cut the first slice:
The WCWP 53rd anniversary/birthday cake was acknowledged on the air:
John Zoni, Pat Kroll, Jeff Kroll, Zach Parker:
Bernie’s last aircheck of the night:
…looked and sounded like this:
Next up was Rev. John Commins:
It was his first Homecoming show in a decade.
Bruce and Jeff ran the board:
Steven Acevedo stuck around for John’s show:
Here are select talk breaks from John’s show:
Mike Phillips, Frank D’Elia, and Phil Lebowitz:
After becoming friends with Joe Honerkamp on Facebook, we finally met in person Saturday night:
Ted David took this picture of me:
Then, we posed for our second pic of the day:
I took one last shot before I left:
I had to take it from Studio 2 because it was too crowded in Studio 1 and at the door to Studio 1.
I had such a blast at Homecoming. It was great to catch up with alumni I’ve met before and with those I met in person for the first time.
2/26/18 UPDATE: I combined all the above videos into one YouTube video:
Hours later, at 2AM, it was time for my Homecoming show, CJazzPlus with Mike Chimeri. As I noted two weeks ago, I pre-recorded the show. Here are pictures from that session in Studio 2:
Direct from the Studio 2 console is the aircheck from that show:
And here is the playlist with a retroactive correction I added in Photoshop on Sunday night:
Some of the notes I wrote on the playlist didn’t make it to the final cut.
I loved Ted David’s liners so much that I made a compilation of how those liners sounded between songs:
The first transition was from the console while the rest were from the Internet stream.
One year with iPhone April 11, 2014
Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Health, Internet, Media, News, Personal, Phone, Photography, Radio, Sports, Technology, Travel, TV.add a comment
A year ago yesterday, I boarded the iPhone bandwagon by switching from an LG enV3, which I had for 3 1/2 years, to an iPhone 5. When I’m not texting or making a phone call, it’s a great alternative for internet access. My workouts with the Nike Running app have gone further than I was going in my first iPhone post last July. I’ve gone as far as 5.35 miles in one workout and broke 100 miles for the month of March.
When I need to comparison shop, I use shopping apps. When I want to listen to the radio, I have the TuneIn app. I’ve downloaded apps for several networks, network affiliates, and cable channels.
But I still wish the internal hard drive was bigger; maybe with the next iPhone.
2013 in review December 31, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Art, Audio, Commentary, Film, Health, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, New Age, News, Personal, Phone, Photography, Radio, Technology, Travel, Weather.add a comment
The following is an excerpt of an end-of-year post WordPress created for MikeChimeri.com. Scroll down for my editorial.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,600 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Click here to see the complete report.
2013 was the first full year for the WordPress version of MikeChimeri.com. April was a transformative month that saw my upgrade from a Nikon D3100 camera to a D5100, and finally join iPhone nation. I upgraded from an LG enV3 to an Apple iPhone 5. (I ended up giving my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 to someone very special.) A week after those two upgrades, I documented the 2013 WCWP Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. A week after that, I was in Milford, Connecticut, for the first two-night Smooth Jazz for Scholars benefit concert series. April also marked five years since The Mike Chimeri Blog was launched; MikeChimeri.com launched in May 2005, seven years before merging with the blog.
In addition to some new contemporary jazz releases, I broadened my musical horizons by adding Return to Forever, Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, and various Christmas compilations to my collection. I posted more expressway and parkway pictures. I spent most of the summer scanning old 35mm pictures and recording cassettes and microcassettes to one of my hard drives. I returned to LIU Post and WCWP in October for my annual Homecoming Weekend Show and Homecoming itself. I attended Charlie Fillizola’s art exhibit at Wantagh Public Library. And besides SJFS, I attended concerts in August, October, and November.
I didn’t mention this in any post, but there was one dark spot in 2013: the loss of my paternal grandmother, Marilyn “Mazz” Chimeri (née Garing), in early July. She was the last of my grandparents remaining after I lost my maternal grandparents, Lennie and Arthur Rose, in June and November 2010, and my paternal grandfather, Carmen Chimeri, in December 2011. I miss them dearly, but feel lucky to have known them for as long as I did. I love you all.
I hope for the best in 2014, not only for myself, but for each and every one of you visiting this site. Have a happy and healthy new year.
2013 LIU Post & WCWP Homecoming, 2014 Hall of Fame Announcement October 22, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Technology.add a comment
Other recaps: 2008, 2009, WCWP 50th Anniversary (2011), 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
Later in this recap, I share the aircheck from my Homecoming Weekend show and behind-the-scenes pictures from the pre-record. 2/26/18 UPDATE: Video that I shot for DVD has been reworked for YouTube and is embedded before my aircheck and behind-the-scenes pics.
I was at LIU Post on Saturday for their annual Homecoming celebration. I was there primarily for WCWP’s barbecue and announcement of 2014 inductees to their Hall of Fame.
I arrived on campus at around 2:30. After getting situated, I decided to head to Hickox Field for a little while:
In the lower right window of the press box are Neil Marks, Jeff Kroll, Dan Cox, and Pat Kroll:
Jeff Kroll described the above picture this way when I posted it to the WCWP Alumni Association Facebook group (account links removed):
We’re on the lower level of the press box…..hard to see clearly, but on the far right side, that’s Pat Kroll, sitting next to her is Dan Cox, standing next to Dan with the red shirt on (glad I had red on that day for identifying purposes) Jeff Kroll, and Neil A. Marks is standing next to me. Sat 10/19/13. Post 58 Pace 0. Pat was coordinating with Joel Feltman (down on the sidelines) for field interviews. (sign still says CW Post Campus!)
He later added:
If you look at the upper level of the press box, toward the left side, the third person in….that person is operating the scoreboard from what used to be the WCWP booth until the 2000’s. THAT was really home!
11/10 UPDATE: Jeff had one more thing to say about this picture tonight:
I received this note from Dan Cox today:
“I saw Bryan Collins today at the Field Hockey final. He told me the grandstand demolition begins next Monday. Looks like new press box by next fall. I hope!” If that happens, the press box goes with the entire grandstand. And this great shot will be a timely memory for those of us who have spent so many fall afternoons there. Thanks Mike Chimeri! Great timing to have taken that picture last month!
I’m honored to have taken it.
10/21/14 UPDATE: The press box was still there this year, but probably for the last time.
As Jeff noted, the LIU Post Pioneers dominated the Pace Setters (get it?) 58-0. I was at the field in time to catch the Pioneers’ second-to-last touchdown.
Touchdown!:
The extra point is good.
Satisfied, I walked back to WCWP. The Pioneers’ last touchdown came during my walk back. I could faintly hear the public address announcer declaring, “touchdowwwwwwwwn!”
Maura “Bernie” Bernard brought photo albums of past Homecoming weekends at the station:
She also prepared for show in Studio 1 following the Homecoming Game:
Meanwhile, in Studio 2, alumni interviews were recorded:
The interviewee here is Jay Elzweig:
The Hall of Fame plaque, introduced at this year’s ceremony:
Plaques dedicated to the late Dr. Herb Coston and Bill Epperhart:
Joel Feltman and Jay Mirabile look through some of the albums:
At 5:00, Pete Bellotti and Bernie Bernard announced the 2014 inductees to the WCWP Hall of Fame:
The inductees are Rita Sands, Frank D’Elia, Bill Epperhart, and Ted David. Bernie interviewed Ted over the phone.
John Mertz and Bobby Guthenberg listened along:
The announcement and interview with Ted can be heard here:
2014 WCWP Hall of Fame Announcement
Later, in Studio 2, Jay Mirabile and I were interviewed:
Thanks to Zach Parker for taking those pictures during the interview.
Here is that pre-recorded interview, which was later edited by me, but my edit isn’t the one that aired:
Interview with Mike Chimeri & Jay Mirabile
As Bernie’s show drew to a close, she posed for this picture with me, Jay Mirabile, Bobby Guthenberg, Barry Albano, and John Mertz:
The final aircheck of Bernie’s show:
The Disco and Funk King Show was next:
I had a wonderful time at Homecoming this year. It was great catching up with my fellow alumni, and meeting some in person for the first time.
2/26/18 UPDATE: Here is video that I shot for DVD and have reworked for YouTube:
The rest of this post is devoted to my Homecoming Weekend show – CJazzPlus with Mike Chimeri – which aired at 3AM on Sunday, hours after I left campus.
I recorded the show back on October 4.
I took some behind-the-scenes pictures while recording, starting with this self-timed shot:
Here is the playlist, complete with my copious notes to mention during the show:
I made sure to mention whatever notes I wrote down, but unfortunately, I had to edit some out for time. Each pre-recorded hour had to be exactly 59 minutes long.
Here is the aircheck from the 2013 edition of CJazzPlus with Mike Chimeri:
The file is downloadable here.
It’s mostly from the console when I pre-recorded the show, but I mixed in elements from WCWP’s stream as the show aired.
Scanning pictures and transferring audio tapes September 1, 2013
Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Media, Personal, Photography.add a comment
The evening of July 12 marked the beginning of seven weeks (though not nonstop) of photo and audio archival, scanning and transferring media – 35 millimeter prints, cassettes, and microcassettes – to my external hard drives.
The first task was scanning pictures from photo albums that I didn’t scan back in December 2008 and January 2009. At that time, I scanned at 300 DPI (dots per inch). This time, I opted for 400 DPI. And unlike the previous period of scanning, I didn’t mindlessly adjust contrast, levels, and color in each picture. I made a picture-by-picture decision.
I also tried my best to clone stamp out dust, scuffs, and scratches, but it was very hard. For some of the early scans around July 12, I gave up and left them in. I also settled for the vertical banding (red, green, and blue streaks) that was present when I used an Epson Perfection V33 scanner. For subsequent scans, I switched to a Canon CanoScan 9000F Mark II and there wasn’t any banding.
The albums contained pictures from the 1940s through the early 2000s, including shots of me as a kid. Three albums were of special days: my high school senior prom, my sister Lauren’s Bat Mitzvah reception and my Bar Mitzvah reception. The third one was the last album I scanned.
After completing the albums, I moved on to an album-less bin of pictures that were mostly from high school and college. I was scared to look at them until now.
In the process of scanning the albums, and the pictures in that bin, I was reminded how much I miss those that are no longer alive and I wished I could reconnect with those still living that I haven’t seen in years.
The point of scanning all of those pictures was to archive them digitally to go along with all that I’ve shot on digital cameras since 2004. Unfortunately, a fraction of the prints have become blurry over time. Sharpening couldn’t save them, but I archived those nonetheless. If it was in an album or in that bin, it had to be scanned.
Picture scanning took just over a month, completing on August 17. The next day, I took the next big plunge and began transferring cassettes and microcassettes to one of my external drives as WAVE files. Both cassette types contained personal recordings from me, my sister Lauren, and my cousin Chris. Like the pictures from school, I was scared to listen because I didn’t like how I spoke back then. I commonly began sentences by saying “okay, now, we’re…”, “um,” “uh,” and “right now, we’re going to have…” There was even one recording of me in June 1994 where I had an embarrassing lilt. But by 1998, my speech was improved, and more so by 2000.
I transferred my 36 microcassettes between August 18, my father’s birthday, and August 24. The 40 cassettes were transferred between August 19 and August 31 (yesterday).
Editing the microcassettes involved speeding up or slowing down either parts of a side or an entire side. Editing for both formats (cassette and microcassette) involved normalizing the audio, which was sometimes loaded with valleys (low levels). The peaks came when turning on whatever recorder was used or from clicks and hits while holding and moving the recorder around. In the normalization process, I had to work around those peaks. It wasn’t easy.
There are a few pictures left to scan and cassettes left to transfer, but the bulk of my work is complete. It’s a great relief.
MikeChimeri.com 
2014 in review December 31, 2014
Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Audio, Commentary, Film, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio.add a comment
The following is an excerpt of an end-of-year post WordPress created for MikeChimeri.com. Scroll down for my editorial.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
Click here to see the complete report.
Despite seven more posts than last year, 2014 was more for reflecting than recapping. Only six posts recapped jazz concerts, two recapped WCWP events, and one was a recap of my day at New York Comic Con. A lot of work went into those posts, however. You can find them in the archives (screen left) for January, February, April, June, and October.
As for reflection, I reflected one year with an iPhone, one year of running with the help of the Nike Running app, ten years since my college commencement, and twenty since the infamous O.J. Simpson car chase. You can find those posts in the archives for May and June.
I always hope the best when a new year approaches and this time is no different. I hope you, the reader, I, the writer, and everyone we know have a happy, healthy, and gainful 2015.