Ken Navarro, “The Test of Time” January 12, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Football, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Sports, Travel, TV.add a comment
Ken Navarro rang in 2012 by releasing his new solo acoustic guitar album, “The Test of Time,” on his website. The street date is March 20, but if you can’t wait, and I sure couldn’t, you can buy through his website. Since it arrived in the mail two days ago, I’ve listened intently to the album’s twelve tracks, classic songs that truly stand “The Test of Time.”
The tracks (original artist in italics):
1. Imagine (John Lennon) (5:11)
2. Little Martha (The Allman Brothers Band) (3:56)
3. Just Like A Woman/Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands (Bob Dylan) (6:09)
4. Message In A Bottle (The Police) (4:37)
5. Eight Days A Week/Ticket to Ride/Day Tripper (The Beatles) (4:37) – As I listened to this, I found myself impersonating the Beatles on select lyrics, namely on “Day Tripper”
6. The Days of Wine and Roses (Henry Mancini) (5:03)
7. Wichita Lineman (Glen Campbell) (4:26)
8. Letter From Home (Pat Metheny Group) (2:41)
9. Caroline No (Brian Wilson) (2:42)
10. Europa (Santana) (6:57)
I got my first taste of “Letter From Home” and “Europa” at last year’s Smooth Jazz for Scholars concert in Milford, Connecticut.
Bonus Tracks:
11. Bach BWV 998 (J.S. Bach) (3:28)
12. When You Wish Upon A Star (Cliff Edwards as Jiminy Cricket) (3:15) – This was originally heard in the Disney classic Pinocchio, but since 1987 (following Super Bowl XXI), it’s used in the post-Super Bowl (and other major sports championships) ad for Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts. You’ve just finished listening to “The Test of Time.” What are you going to do next? I’m going to Disney World!
The description on the album’s webpage is apt: it’s a “Ken Navarro masterpiece” from start to finish.
2/1 UPDATE: “Message In A Bottle” music video:
5/1 UPDATE: “Imagine” music video:
NICE touch-up January 11, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Travel.add a comment
I have yet to take a ride on any of the NICE buses, but I have seen them drive down Wantagh Avenue. They are the most recent buses in the MTA Long Island Bus fleet, but slightly touched up. The MTA logos are gone or covered up. In the case of an Able Ride bus that I saw driving down Hempstead Turnpike last Monday, I still see the MTA logo underneath the white paint.
This explains why Long Island Bus was using buses from the New York City Bus fleet in its last weeks. The new buses–those added in the last few years where the seats in the back are elevated–were being redone.
Have a NICE day! January 1, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Personal, Travel.add a comment
As I noted last week, today is the day Nassau County says goodbye to MTA Long Island Bus and hello to NICE Bus. More info on NICE (Nassau Inter-County Express) can be found at their News and Events page:
Your Bus Service is Becoming NICE
Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) is the new name of the bus system in Nassau County. The system will no longer be called LI Bus. The new name commemorates the transition from the bus service being part of the regional MTA to being managed by Nassau County and its operating partner Veolia Transportation. Nassau County and Veolia Transportation are committed to providing a well-managed, high-quality bus service available to citizens.
Use Your MetroCard on NICE Bus!
We are delighted to announce that starting January 1st, 2012 and going foward, NICE Bus will continue to accept MetroCard ®. It will function in the same way it always has.
NICE buses accept coins and all types of MetroCard ®, the fare card issued by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
You can learn more about the MetroCard ® at the MTA website, http://www.mta.info/metrocard/, including the Reduced-Fare program for qualified riders, fare discounts available and where to buy MetroCard ®.
For information and fares about the Long Island Rail Road, visit http://www.mta.info/lirr/about/TicketInfo/. …
The routes and schedules haven’t changed much, if at all. So, have a NICE day and many more days to come.
A NICE gesture December 25, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Commentary, News, Personal, Travel.add a comment
The cherry on top of this Christmas and sixth night of Hanukkah was learning that the new Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) bus–the private replacement of the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) Long Island Bus–will be accepting MetroCards on their buses.
More from Newsday (subscription needed):
… [T]he MTA ironed out details of a “memorandum of understanding” with Nassau that will allow the bus system to continue using the MetroCard fare payment system. Under the agreement, the MTA will receive 1.75 cents per MetroCard swipe. The agreement also will allow for free transfers between NICE bus and MTA subways or buses. [Incoming NICE chief executive Michael Setzer] called the agreement “a big win for both MTA and NICE riders.”
Also, according to the NICE website, the routes and schedules will remain the same.
I’m ready to make NICE, starting next Sunday, New Year’s Day 2012.
Smooth Jazz for Scholars 2012 date/lineup December 25, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal.add a comment
Two days ago, I visited keyboardist Jay Rowe’s website to see if there was info on the 2012 Smooth Jazz for Scholars, the tenth overall. There was:
I am pleased to announce that next year’s Smooth Jazz For Scholars show featuring Paul Taylor, Nick Colionne, Chieli Minucci, Nelson Rangell and Shilts will be held May 5, 2012 at the Parsons Complex [auditorium] located at 70 West River Street Milford, CT. 06460. Tickets are now on sale for $40 each and the first 200 tickets sold will be reserved seating. Tickets can be purchased by sending a check or money order payable to Smooth Jazz For Scholars Inc. to P.O. Box 3723 Milford, CT. 06460.
This will be my sixth year in attendance.
Here is how the 2011 show went.
5/7 UPDATE: This year’s recap is up.
30,000 views! December 18, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Personal.add a comment
Overnight, The Mike Chimeri Blog reached 30,000 views. It’s all because of you, the viewer. Thank you very much.
My 30th December 6, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Personal.2 comments
A few weeks ago, on November 17, I became a tricenarian (I looked that word up). I turned 30 years old. My mom put this milestone birthday banner up in the upstairs hallway of my house:
There was also a regular Happy Birthday banner put up in the living room downstairs.
Throughout the day, hundreds of birthday wishes came in on Facebook, through text messages, phone calls, and greeting cards with either gift cards or checks.
I didn’t have a party, but I went out to dinner with my parents and sister. Back home, it wouldn’t be a birthday without my favorite: ice cream cake, this one from Carvel:
Steve Cole at Houndstooth recap; Fall Foliage November 13, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel, Weather.add a comment
Later recap: October 2013
Updated at the end with feedback from Steve.
Last night, saxophonist Steve Cole performed at Houndstooth Pub, a few blocks north of Penn Station. For me, Houndstooth has become the new IMAC. December 4 will mark one year since my first show there.
I didn’t have a ride to the Wantagh LIRR station. So, I walked there in the late afternoon around sunset. (The days are short this time of year.) Along the way, I took pictures of noteworthy foliage.
This is a tree on Briard Street:
The corner of Briard and Island Road:
Stephen Lane:
Ella Road:
Beech Street:
Across from Wantagh Elementary School:
South of Bunker Avenue:
Then, I put the camera away and didn’t take it out of my travel bag until 8PM at Houndstooth.
Ed Tankus of Blue Plate Radio welcomed the sold-out crowd, introduced Steve Cole, and then Steve introduced himself:
Steve played tenor sax:
He was joined by Carl Carter on bass:
JJ Sansaverino on guitar:
Steve Williams on drums:
And Bill Heller on the keyboard:
When I walked down the stairs, I saw a Kurzweil PC3x keyboard and knew Bill would be in the band. It was a pleasant surprise.
SET LIST
SET 1
1. Off Broadway (NY LA, 2003)
2. So Into You (Between Us, 2000)
3. Just A Natural Thang (True, 2006)
4. Undun (The Guess Who cover) (Moonlight, 2011)
5. Angel (Sarah McLachlan cover) (Moonlight, 2011)
6. Got It Goin’ On (Between Us, 2000)
SET 2
7. Thursday (Spin, 2005)
8. Curtis (True, 2006)
9. When I Think of You (Stay Awhile, 1998)
10. Sugar (Stanley Turrentine cover)
11. Our Love (Stay Awhile, 1998)
“Got It Goin’ On” featured solos from Bill…
…and Carl:
JJ had a guitar solo on “Thursday”:
“Curtis” had a long and interesting backstory, which Steve told before playing it:
Steve invited up his friend Dave Hiltebrand to stand in on bass for “Sugar”:
Steve Williams’ drum solo:
The last song of the night was “Our Love”:
The last note:
This night is history.
Steve Cole is very entertaining, funny, wild, sensitive, and soulful. We saw all sides last night. Thanks to Steve, Steve Williams, Carl, JJ, Bill, Dave, and Steve Butler of Mighty Music Corp. It was a fun few hours.
11/14 UPDATE: This album began with foliage pics on my walk to the train station. I took a few more this afternoon in my front and back yards:
11/15 UPDATE: I linked to this recap on my Facebook wall and tagged Steve in the link description. Today, he left a comment:
Thanks for the kind words Mike! I’m so glad you came, and had a great night….
MikeChimeri.com 
2011 in review December 31, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Commentary, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, TV.add a comment
The following is a WordPress post for my blog, edited by me with editorials (like this one) in italics.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
Click here to see the complete report (link removed).
Why did I remove the link? It drastically slowed down my browser (Firefox) and repeatedly crashed it. I’m finishing this post in Internet Explorer. Here’s the text I copied and pasted, saving in multiple drafts between crashes:
WordPress.com presents
The Mike Chimeri Blog
2011 in blogging
Happy New Year from WordPress.com!
To kick off the new year, we’d like to share with you data on your blog’s activity in 2011. You may start scrolling!
Crunchy numbers
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 8,300 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
In 2011, there were 43 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 225 posts. There were 861 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 1gb. That’s about 2 pictures per day.
The busiest day of the year was August 21st with 236 views. The most popular post that day was Bolder & Fresher Tour at Westbury recap.
How did they find you?
The top referring sites in 2011 were:
Some visitors came searching, mostly for joyce cooling, empty stage, wwe headquarters, ken navarro, and steve scales.
What is people’s fascination with a picture of an empty Parsons Complex auditorium stage that I put in my 2008 Smooth Jazz for Scholars recap?
Where did they come from?
Most visitors came from The United States. Canada & Italy were not far behind.
Here are the stats I screencapped before Firefox crashed one time too many:
People also visited from other continents, but I can’t risk crashing my browser again to see their stats.
Who were they?
Your most commented on post in 2011 was Bolder & Fresher Tour at Westbury recap
These were your 5 most active commenters:
Perhaps you could follow their blog or send them a thank you note?
Thank you, even if you disagreed with me. And thank you, Johnny Dollar, for linking to the recap. It was the only one online. Not even Newsday wrote about the show.
Attractions in 2011
These are the posts that got the most views in 2011.
Some of your most popular posts were written before 2011. Your writing has staying power! Consider writing about those topics again.
I don’t know why that FBN post continues to get attention. Cablevision added it in November 2009.
As always, thank you very much for visiting. Happy 2012!