My city pop discovery (and reacquaintance with Garfield and Friends) March 5, 2023
Posted by Mike C. in Animation, City Pop, Comedy, Comics, Film, Game Shows, Health, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Phone, Pop, Radio, Technology, Travel, TV, Video, Video Games, Weather.2 comments
NOTE 1: This is also a Garfield and Friends story with several montages among the city pop material. Those montages led me to city pop.
NOTE 2: I consulted my computer audio recordings of the Garfield and Friends DVDs to ensure the video embed caption quotes are verbatim.
NOTE 3: I even spend a paragraph on The Weather Channel tribute site TWC Classics, a simulator that re-creates the old local forecasts, and recently departed announcer Dan Chandler who lent his narration to the sim.
Nearly 50 years ago, Japan’s economy was booming and a new leisure class developed. That leisure class begat a new Japanese pop music genre, borrowing elements of various Western music genres. They called it city pop. What began in the 1970s, peaked in popularity in the ’80s, then fell out of the Japanese mainstream.
City pop found a new Western audience in the 2010s thanks to blog posts like mine (but earlier), Japanese reissues of the genre’s albums, and YouTube uploads of the albums’ tracks. From a 2023 perspective, I give YouTube most of the credit. Today, it is the best city pop recruitment tool.
The rest of this post is about how I discovered city pop and recounts my first nine days as a fan. If you want to read more about the genre and its resurgence, I recommend Cat Zhang’s 2021 Pitchfork article and Wikipedia’s city pop entry.
On February 19, YouTube recommended a video with random clips from my favorite cartoon series, Garfield and Friends:
Jim Davis created the Garfield comic strip and CBS TV specials, but Mark Evanier (with Sharman DiVono for three seasons) spun comedy gold on CBS Saturday mornings from 1988 to 1994 (the last rerun aired in ’95). I can quote parts of episodes or even whole episodes. So, when watching the above clips, I knew what happened next.
The next Garfield and Friends clip in my recommendations came on February 20:
The evening of February 21 was my city pop entry point, but we’re not there yet. The prelude to the entry was this:
Full disclosure: I met Jim Davis at a signing in March 1995, but I was too shy and just had him sign a sketch. And I interviewed Jon Arbuckle voice actor Thom Huge (HUE-ghee) three times for The Mike Chimeri Show. (In retrospect, I would have held off on the first interview until his voice was back to normal.)
The Jon Arbuckle montage led YouTube to recommend this:
Whoa! What is that song that sounds vaguely like “Burnin’ Up the Carnival” by Joe Sample (from Voices in the Rain)? I scrolled down and saw the song was “4:00 A.M.” by Taeko Onuki (or Ohnuki). I searched Google on my iPhone and the Taeko’s Wikipedia entry (linked in the previous sentence) and found the song. That prompted the YouTube app where I heard the whole thing:
Whoa again, it appeared on an album with the last name of a few of my friends, but with an extra N. Lyrics are here.
1:30 PM UPDATE: A member of the My Life in Gaming Discord server told me the album title was part of Taeko’s fascination with French media, which I confirmed after a Google Search yielded this 2017 interview. Still, Mignonne is one letter off from my friends of Italian descent.
3:10 PM UPDATE: I just finished reading the interview linked in the prior update. It was an interesting read, but I was disappointed to learn Taeko did not like Mignonne because of what transpired during production. The resulting disenchantment, and poor sales, made her take a two-year hiatus from the music industry. Anyway, back to the good stuff.
Taeko’s Wikipedia entry led me to the one on city pop. That’s what I heard and I wanted more.
I could not stop listening to “4:00 A.M.” Ironically, it kept me up past midnight, but not as late as 4AM. I was up at 4AM on March 4 when I drafted this blog post thanks to a period of strong easterly winds that buffeted my bedroom window. The song’s refrain may sound vaguely like the later “Burnin’ Up the Carnival,” but the song otherwise had more in common with the works of Bob James and Grover Washington Jr. The line “ima o” was phrased like “that’s the time” in “Feel Like Makin’ Love” by Roberta Flack, which Bob played on and then covered. The guitar solo on the ending breakdown sounded like it came from Eric Gale‘s hands. (It was from Tsunehide Matsuki‘s hands.) I have repeatedly imagined Grover Washington himself covering “4:00 A.M.” on alto saxophone, soloing (improvising) from the last refrain, through the breakdown, all the way to the end.
I should probably acknowledge that I am on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum, formerly known as Asperger Syndrome. That probably explains my intense focus on one thing or another, and attention to detail.
I was busy with radio show production on February 22, but “4:00 A.M.” was in the back of my mind and I was intent on extracting the audio and assigning the WAV file to a vintage Weather Channel local forecast flavor in my WeatherStar 4000 simulator. Now, I could hear all but the last 36 seconds with the current conditions and forecast, peppered with Dan Chandler’s re-created narrations. (I was in touch with Dan for a few weeks midway through my tenure at WGBB, and he even called in while I was playing a song. I didn’t put him on, but relayed what we talked about, including “reading the sports pages” as he listened to the live stream. After writing that sentence, I’m sorry to learn that he passed away on February 7 [obituary].) The simulator was already populated by music cues from The Price is Right and adjacent Goodson–Todman game shows. See the February 15 Instrumental Invasion recap for more on that obsession.
While my “4:00 A.M.” obsession continued, YouTube had more city pop recommendations, including a modern music video for Mariya Takeuchi‘s “Plastic Love“:
Oh, and another Jon Arbuckle montage:
As the “Plastic Love” video wound down, I pretended to be Dan Ingram back-selling the song, quipping that it was better than polyurethane love.
My vocal city pop discoveries halted for the next few days when I found a city pop creation befitting my love of instrumental music: jazz fusion supergroup Casiopea!
First, I found “Midnight Rendezvous“:
Then, “Eyes of the Mind” before the “the” was added:
Groups like Casiopea and T-Square (formerly The Square) have influenced generations of video game music composers.
I woke up on February 23 after a full night’s sleep and was greeted with two more Jon Arbuckle videos:
As I listened to my radio show aircheck from the night before, I began extracting audio from whatever Casiopea albums were on YouTube (mostly via their “topics” channel), provided the cover art available online was clear and at least 1500×1500 pixels. If AI upscaling in Adobe Photoshop yielded poor results, I’d buy the CD myself and scan the artwork. That’s what I did for Flowers (1996), but I bought Euphony (1988) because it wasn’t on YouTube. I will eventually buy the actual CDs, but given the inflated import prices, collection take a while. Here’s what I do have:
- Casiopea (5/25/79) (Alfa)
- Super Flight (11/25/79) (Alfa)
- Thunder Live (4/21/80) (Alfa)
- Make Up City (11/21/80) (Alfa)
- Eyes of the Mind (4/21/81) (Alfa) – featuring the aforementioned Bob James
- Cross Point (10/21/81) (Alfa)
- Mint Jams (5/21/82) (Alfa)
- 4×4 Four by Four (12/16/82) (Alfa)
- Photographs (4/23/83) (Alfa)
- Jive Jive (11/30/83) (Alfa)
- The Soundgraphy (4/25/84) (compilation album) (Alfa) – I have the title track, the lone original recording
- Down Upbeat (10/25/84) (Alfa)
- Halle (9/10/85) (Alfa)
- Casiopea Live (9/25/85) (Alfa)
- Sun Sun (9/10/86) (Alfa)
- Euphony (4/25/88) (Polydor/Aura) – the CD reissue I have includes “Halle” from Casiopea Perfect Live II (7/10/87) as a bonus track
- Full Colors (5/25/91) (Pioneer)
- Dramatic (5/21/93) (Alfa)
- Answers (5/25/94) (Alfa)
- Asian Dreamer (12/16/94) (Pony Canyon)
- Freshness (5/19/95) (Pony Canyon)
- Flowers (9/20/96) (Pony Canyon)
- Light and Shadows (9/3/97) (Pony Canyon)
- Material (5/19/99) (Pony Canyon)
- Ta•Ma•Te Box (11/20/13) (Hats Unlimited) (CD tracks only)
- A•So•Bo (4/22/15) (Hats Unlimited) (CD tracks only)
- New Topics (10/12/22) (Hats Unlimited)
I’m still working my way through the albums chronologically in my spare time. Flowers is gradually on its way from a Japan Discogs markeplace seller, so I jumped from Freshness to Light and Shadows. That’s where I am as of publication on March 5. (I got in eight hours of sleep the night before.)
The last item in this post’s Casiopea segment is T2norway‘s video profile of them, preceded by his city pop story:
The night of February 23, YouTube recommended two more Garfield and Friends videos. One was yet another montage:
And the other was a series review by Nostalgia Critic, played by Doug Walker (who was born the same day as me!):
I was let down by his critiques of certain characters and the animation style, not to mention his disdain for U.S. Acres. Nonetheless, I respect his dissent.
My city pop discoveries resumed on the night of February 25, related to “Plastic Love.” Leading off, a Super Famicom/Nintendo rendition:
That was followed by the infamous long version of the Mariya Takeuchi original (lyrics):
(As of 3/13/23, the video was taken down. In the long version, one verse repeated and the ending chorus was extended, exemplified below.)
Since I was watching in a web browser, I saw recommendations on the right side of the tab. The one that caught me eye was an English version of “Plastic Love”:
The singer-songwriter was Caitlin Myers, also a voice actress with a focus in anime and video games. She has two YouTube channels: one in her name and one called Interlunium. I was unaware of the scope of her work as I watched this first video.
More city pop discoveries came way on February 26. Figuratively waiting at the door to this new day was “Mayonaka no Door* (Stay with Me)” by the late Miki Matsubara, recorded when she was just 19 (lyrics):
*”Door” is lyrically transliterated “doa.” The full term means “midnight’s door (literally, door of midnight).” In another ironic twist, there were nights after discovering this song when I’d be awake around midnight as the refrain bounced around in my head. Sometimes, I imagined a fast tempo, “Spain“-esque Chick Corea version with a Minimoog solo. Others, I thought of McCoy Tyner.
Sure enough, Caitlin Myers wrote an English version of this, too:
Incidentally, I added both versions of “Plastic Love” and “Mayonaka no Door (Stay with Me)” to the WS4000 simulator, again using the five-minute local forecast flavor.
Knocking on afternoon’s door was the biggest discovery yet: Caitlin covered “4:00 A.M.”!
My city pop journey had seemingly come full circle. Now, I had English versions of the first three vocal city pop songs I discovered to complement the originals.
The Garfield and Friends video journey definitely came to end on the morning of February 28 with this video showing one second of each episode from show (or rather from each cartoon in each episode):
However, there was more city pop to be had that afternoon. Other Caitlin Myers English adaptations were in my YouTube feed, and I felt I had to hear the originals before listening to hers.
“Do You Remember Love?” was adapted from its directly-translated Japanese title, “Ai Oboete Imasu ka.” Sung by Mari Iijima, it underscored the intense climax to the 1984 film, Macross: Do You Remember Love? I foolishly watched that sequence on YouTube instead of a straight recording of the song, unable to unsee or unhear any of it. (And I thought Disney villain deaths were rough.)
Lucky for you, the reader, I found a straight recording (lyrics):
And the Caitlin Myers version:
3/13/23 UPDATE: “Do You Remember Love?” was J-pop rather than city pop, illustrating how songs from the subgenre led me to ones from the main genre.
“Dance in the Memories” was next, written and performed by Meiko Nakahara (lyrics):
Caitlin’s turn:
Closing out my first week in city pop, “Telephone Number” by Junko Ohashi (lyrics):
I had to make a 3-minute, 30-second local forecast flavor to accommodate the song’s 3:58 run time (3:59 for Caitlin).
As a suburban New Yorker, I like Magical‘s cover art of Lower Manhattan featuring the original World Trade Center. I passed by One World Trade Center in 2014 while running the Tunnel to Towers 5K.
The hook – “ah-uu, 5-6-7-oh-9” – brought two things to mind:
- “Ah-uu”: “Werewolves of London” by Warren Zevon – of course, that’s “a-hoo,” not “ah-uu.”
- “5-6-7-oh-9” (56709): Foreshadowing SMS!
Musically, Caitlin did a masterful job replicating the sound of each song she adapted into English. On behalf of city pop fans everywhere, thank you, Caitlin, for your efforts.
Thank you to the many city pop artists whose works inspired by our (the West’s) music have boomeranged back to us.
And thank you, the reader, for making it to the end of this post. Wish me luck on the rest of my city pop journey. Be sure to catch Instrumental Invasion April 26 at 9PM Eastern (April 27 at 11AM in Japan) on WCWP. It’ll be the first show with music by Casiopea, and about ten minutes into the last segment, I allude to some of what I laid out in this post because I play Scott Wilkie‘s cover of “Burnin’ Up the Carnival.”
I’ll leave you with Caitlin Myers’ Japanese versions (lyrics by Datenkou) of “Never Gonna Give You Up“…
…and “September“:
2021 LIU Post & WCWP Homecoming Weekend, WCWP’s 60th Anniversary October 19, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Aviation, Football, Health, History, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Phone, Photography, Radio, Rock, Sports, Technology, Travel, Video, Video Games, Weather.add a comment
Other recaps: 2008, 2009, WCWP 50th Anniversary (2011), 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022
After a year away, Homecoming Weekend was back in full force! And WCWP’s 60th anniversary on Monday made it a four-day weekend!
It was my first time back on the campus of LIU Post since October 28, 2019 – a week after the last Homecoming – with Ryan Grabow.
On Thursday, October 14, I charged up my camcorder and changed batteries in the shotgun mic and audio recorder. I also charged up my GoPro Hero 7 for multi camera production, but didn’t use it.
Friday, October 15
I left for LIU Post via Uber at 10:30. Upon arrival, I gave my COVID-19 self-check form – which I filled out before I left – to the gate attendant. Then, I was driven down to WCWP in the Abrams Communication Center. I immediately went to work as Art Beltrone and Hank Neimark pre-recorded an interview in studio 1 for Monday’s 60th anniversary broadcast. The guest and recorder was Samantha “Sami J” Negron.
Here is the interview:
After that, I moved my equipment into studio 2 to record part of Art Beltrone’s solo show, WCWP’s Early Years, which kicked off the 60-hour (hey, 60 hours + 60 years!) Homecoming Weekend programming block. Jeff Kroll was the board operator and his wife Pat was producer.
Hank Neimark was Art’s first guest:
Jay Elzweig introduced the songs, all from 1961, the year WCWP signed on:
Several WCWP alumni were interviewed via Zoom:
Two of the Zoom guests were Stewart Ain…:
…and Steve Radoff:
Another show feature had Art reading Post Pioneer newspaper articles. This one was “Message to the Students from the Provost”:
Jay showed off his t-shirt:
The show closed with a preview of 4:00’s Strictly Jazz with John LiBretto and Hank Neimark:
Art also asked Jeff and Pat Kroll their thoughts:
After Art’s closing remarks, the show was over.
Here’s video of portions of WCWP’s Early Years:
Joan Yonke, LIU Post Campus Director of Employer and Alumni Engagement, dropped by the station during Early Years and came back again afterward. It’s always nice to see her.
While the pre-recorded WCWP Career Paths with Bill Mozer ran, I took some photos in the lounge area:
Here’s Homecoming Weekend coordinator Zach’s dog Diesel:
Strictly Jazz started a few minutes after 4PM due to technical difficulties, but ran without a hitch after that.
As you saw, Jeff Kroll ran the board again.
Joining John LiBretto…:
…and Hank Neimark…:
…was Rita Sands, appearing by phone.
They spoke to Jon Korkes via Zoom (after John held Jeff’s “un-mute” message up to the webcam):
They spoke to me in studio 2:
And after my dad picked up to drive me home, Ted David on Zoom:
Here is my video of the first hour:
And the scope of the entire show, just as in 2019 when it aired before mine:
10/20 UPDATE: John Zoni took over studio 2 at 6PM:
Sami J was on at 8PM with Total Access:
My friend and ardent supporter Jay Mirabile had a special edition of his DFK Show at 10PM. Here’s a photo he posted with Sami and Peter Sacoulas:
And his aircheck:
Saturday, October 16
I spent much of the morning editing media and drafting this blog post. I left for Post, this time with my dad, shortly after 1PM.
Both gates were open with no need to check in. So, when we got to campus at 1:30, I photographed the turn into the east gate:
Bernie Bernard and Adam Smook were congregating in studio 3. Adam and I are both from Wantagh – Wantagh Woods, at that! – as we discussed. We also talked about fellow alumnus Frank D’Elia, who worked with Adam at WOR and then WABC.
Jay Elzweig and Jett Lightning came in, as our WABC discussion continued, eventually turning to jingles. Bernie mentioned how JAM Creative Productions recorded a name jingle for her. That jingle has become part of her annual Homecoming Weekend show, which airs after coverage of the football game.
The LIU Sharks‘ Homecoming football game was against the Merrimack Warriors. Merrimack won convincingly 43-5. The Sharks only got a safety and a field goal. I walked toward Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium during the third quarter.
I planespotted to and from Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium, watching planes turn toward JFK. This is Delta flight 169 from BCN (Barcelona El Prat Airport):
JetBlue flight B6192 from ACK (Nantucket Memorial Airport):
Carnival attractions in the parking lot:
“Hoco”? That’s a new one on me.
The stadium entrance:
A play on Bronko Piersall Field:
The scoreboard:
The new press box and stands:
The opposite side:
That’s enough for me. Back to the station.
Emirates flight 201 from DXB (Dubai International Airport):
Jeff Kroll told me he’s been on that flight in the past, all 13 hours of it.
Delta flight 858 from ATL (Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport):
Delta flight 4721 from BNA (Nashville International Airport):
WCWP’s transmitter:
When the game was over, I got to work photographing the postgame show, hosted by John Zoni:
Here is my aircheck of the postgame show, which includes final thoughts from the broadcast booth by Tom Scavetta and Alex Damiris:
Next, the aforementioned Bernie Bernard:
The first page of her playlist:
Jett Lightning was Bernie’s first guest:
Then, me:
Meanwhile, WCWP’s internet station, The Wave, hosted a barbecue outside. Zach was the grillmaster:
Dave asked for a picture:
Seconds later, Qatar Airways flight 701 from DOH (Doha Hamad International Airport) was flying about as low as the earlier Emirates plane:
Jeff’s been on that flight, too. It’s 14 hours long! Nonetheless, he raved about their service.
One last Delta plane: flight 1984 from SAL (San Salvador International Airport):
Back inside, John Zoni and Lew Scharfberg wrapped up the bagels from earlier in the day:
Jay Elzweig was the last of Bernie’s guests that I photographed and video recorded:
In addition to reminiscing, he gave the weather forecast, right up my alley as a fellow weather buff:
The weather Friday and Saturday was warm and a little humid, but a cold front came through Saturday night, leading to seasonably mild and dry conditions Sunday and Monday.
Video of all three segments (my vidcap is the thumbnail):
I chose to leave earlier this year, but there was more to do before I left.
I photographed Art Beltrone’s interview with Nick Mattina and Griffin Ward:
Art:
Nick:
Griffin:
Art’s notes:
A candid shot of Art’s off-air conversation with Lew Scharfberg:
Then, I recorded Art’s interview with me. Here are vidcaps:
…and the video itself:
I mentioned Dan Cox’s predecessor as WCWP’s Director of Broadcasting, and Dan himself who has held the position for 19 years and counting, but forgot to acknowledge Joe Manfredi, the Director of Operations when I was a student. He’s my fellow 2021 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee along with Jay Mirabile. Participating on Zoom during the broadcast to remedy my omission voided the chance for this interview to air; no double-dipping.
Finally on Saturday, posed photos, starting with Peter Sacoulas and Sami Jo Negron:
Me with Peter and Sami:
John Zoni:
…and Tom Scavetta:
Art Beltrone, Bobby Guthenberg (a.k.a. Bobby G.), Joel Mahan:
Art, Bobby G., Jerry Reilly, Joel:
I met Joel and Jerry in 2019 and was so glad to see them again this year. Joel was eager to listen to my regular Wednesday night show and Bobby complimented my work.
Jett Lightning and Jay Elzweig:
Bernie Bernard:
Bernie and John Mertz:
A candid shot of Art Beltrone and Alan Seltzer:
…and posed:
And with my dad having arrived in the parking lot, the last photo was me with Bobby and Alan:
Like Art at the end of his interview with me, Bobby thanked me for everything I do. I told him I appreciate that.
It’s an aircheck palooza from here on out, except for any photos I find in the WCWP Alumni Association Facebook group. To that end, here’s a photo of another guest on Bernie’s show: her former student Joe Connelly:
Alan Seltzer and Bobby G., followed by just Alan:
And Bernie’s outro:
Bobby G. and Mike Riccio were next at 7PM. Here is a scope of their first hour:
Again, courtesy of Bernie, it’s Bobby and Jett:
Mike Riccio:
And the four original hosts of The Rock Show: Bobby, Mike, Alan and Bernie:
A partial scope of Alan’s 10PM show, Seltzer with a Twist:
Sunday, October 17
Once again, I spent the morning editing content from the day before and the aircheck of Instrumental Invasion. Full details about the show are in a separate post, but here’s the scoped aircheck:
I airchecked a handful of Sunday’s shows, also of the partial scope variety. Jay LaPrise was on at 8AM with The Why I Work in Television Radio Show:
At noon, “Jammin'” Jamie Mazzo and Sara “Sadie” Dorchak hosted The Ladies of Prison Break Radio. This is a partial scope, but a long one: 49 minutes. The aircheck begins with a trailer-style Homecoming Weekend promo voiced by Zach:
10/20 UPDATE: Next, at 4PM, Joseph P. Honerkamp. You can call him Joe. Here’s a full scope:
I made a scoped version with re-synced audio and the end part that the video missed:
Jett Lightning came on at 6PM with Lightning’s Hits and Rarities Reliquary. As you’ll hear, Jay Elzweig – weather forecast in tow – joined Jett later in the show:
Rock ‘N’ Soul Gospel followed at 8PM, hosted by Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh. His scope includes a community calendar spot voiced by me and a promo for Monday’s 60th anniversary special voiced by Jeff Kroll:
And as midnight approached, Zach wrapped up the weekend that was:
Monday, October 18
I had yet another morning of editing; in this case, Sunday’s aircheck scopes heard above.
Noon came, and so began the WCWP 60th anniversary broadcast, hosted by Art Beltrone and Hank Neimark, board operated by Jeff Kroll, and produced by Pat Kroll; same as Friday.
My initial plan was to listen to the stream, but as noted earlier, I joined in on Zoom. Here are some screencaps:
Show timeline:
- Introduction with sign-on audio
- Dr. Jennifer Holmes, Dean of Arts, Communications, and Design; and Michael Berthel, Chief of Staff and Vice President for Student Affairs
- Hank counts down to 12:15, pops champagne, cuts cake
- Dr. Kimberly Cline, LIU President
- Jeff Kroll
- Dan Cox, WCWP Director of Broadcasting, reads citation from Nassau County Executive Laura Curran
- Hank Neimark
- Bruce Mahler (via Zoom)
- Jon Cole (via Zoom)
- John Commins (via Zoom)
- Joel Feltman (via Zoom)
- Diane Taylor (via Zoom)
- Stewart Ain (via Zoom)
- Joe Honerkamp (via Zoom)
- John LiBretto (via Zoom)
- Jon Korkes (via Zoom)
- Rita Sands (on the phone)
- Bernie Bernard (recorded Saturday)
- Jeff asks Art and Hank to share their recollections
- Harry Lowenthal (via Zoom)
- Mike Chimeri (via Zoom)
- Bobby Guthenberg (via Zoom)
- Zach Parker
- West Side Story opened in theaters the same day WCWP signed on
- Alan Seltzer (via Zoom)
- Ted David (recorded via Zoom)
- Jeff’s recollections, John Commins and Mike Chimeri’s interjections
- Aleen “Junie” Thomas (via Zoom)
- Dr. William Martinov, LIU Director of Athletics (recorded Saturday)
- Andrew Scarpaci (recorded Saturday)
- Art and Hank re-read citation
- Pat Kroll
- Joe Honerkamp and Stewart Ain share stories about Mrs. Abrams
- Lew Scharfberg (via Zoom)
- Bruce Leonard (via Zoom)
- Fred Gaudelli (via Zoom)
- Bill Mozer (on the phone)
- Jon Cole, Mike Chimeri, Fred Gaudelli, Joel Feltman speak to Bill
- Elise Person (recorded on the phone)
- End
The show was 2 1/2 hours, but I’m posting audio in three parts. Here’s part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
And my pre-record-voiding appearance:
Pat Kroll also took several photos, starting with the cake:
Art with the cake:
Hank, Jeff, Art:
Hank cutting the cake:
Dr. Cline:
Dan Cox reads County Executive Curran’s citation:
The citation:
Thank you very much for reading, viewing, and hearing all the way to the end. To repeat myself, I greatly appreciate the support I get for the work I do. This was a labor of love and friendship.
60 cheers to WCWP! See you next year.
SJFS 2017 Night 2 recap May 8, 2017
Posted by Mike C. in Horse Racing, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Phone, Photography, Sports, Thoroughbred, TV.add a comment
Other SJFS recaps: 2008, 2008 meet-and-greet, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Night 1, 2013 Night 2, 2014 Night 1, 2014 Night 2, 2015 Night 1, 2016 Night 1, 2016 Night 2, 2017 Night 1, 2018 Night 1, 2018 Night 2, 2019 Night 1, 2019 Night 2, 2022 Night 1, 2022 Night 2
Keyboardist Jay Rowe‘s 15th annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars benefit continued Saturday night with the second of two concerts. The headliners were Chieli Minucci (“key-L-e min-OO-chee”), Steve Oliver, Nelson Rangell (soft g), and Steve Cole.
I was only able to get 3 1/2 hours of sleep, although I may have gotten an hour or two more when I thought I was half asleep.
At 6:45 AM, I stretched and went down to the Hampton Inn fitness center to exercise. Running on the treadmill was tough. My body was used to the treadmill at home and I could only manage a broken 2.4 miles (meaning I took a lot of breaks) before giving up and moving on to weightlifting. (I had a better handle on the treadmill yesterday morning, running 5 miles with less breaks.)
Later in the morning, I went to the lobby to drink hot chocolate and mingle with musicians and fellow jazz fans. First, I ran into Mark Abrams and his wife Phyllis. Then, I had a long, engaging, intriguing conversation with Nelson Rangell. My mother Lisa was in on the conversation for a little while. As a went to pour my second cup of hot chocolate, I met Steve Oliver, who was pouring a cup of coffee. I told him I’d been a fan of his music since I first heard it on The Weather Channel in 2002. He was pleased to hear that.
While my parents spent the afternoon at Mohegan Sun, I edited pictures from Friday night, chose the ones to include in the recap, uploaded them to the website, and placed them in the rough draft. When I was finally finished, I killed some time walking from Hampton Inn to a couple of stores on Boston Post Road (U.S. 1). I didn’t buy anything, but at least I passed time before dinner.
When my parents returned, we drove up Boston Post Road to the Olive Garden in Orange. I ate minestrone and cheese ravioli with meat sauce. Delicious.
It was 7:15 when we arrived at Veterans Memorial Auditorium back in Milford. I watched a replay of the Kentucky Derby on my iPhone since I forgot about the race. Always Dreaming won by 2 3/4 lengths.
At 8:00, the dream of Saturday night’s concert became a reality. Kevin McCabe of Jumpstart Jazz got things started with a welcome and thank yous:
After Kevin introduced Jay Rowe’s house band, he introduced Jay himself. His band was made up of Rohn Lawrence on electric guitar, Dave Anderson on bass, Trever Somerville on drums, and Steve Scales – who graduated from the University of Bridgeport earlier in the day – on percussion.
We’ll get to pictures of the band and headliners after you see the…
SET LIST
1. Smooth Ride (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: Smooth Ride (2016)
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
2. Daybreak (Chieli Minucci)
Originally heard on: Global Village (Special EFX) (1992)
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci (acoustic/electric guitar), Steve Oliver (acoustic guitar, vocals)
3. High Noon (Steve Oliver)
Originally heard on: Positive Energy (2002)
Featured musicians: Steve Oliver (acoustic guitar, vocals), Chieli Minucci (acoustic guitar)
4. Lavish (Chieli Minucci)
Originally heard on: Deep as the Night (Special EFX) (2017)
Featured musicians: Chieli Minucci (acoustic/electric guitar), Nelson Rangell (alto sax)
5. Vonetta (Nelson Rangell; Earl Klugh cover)
Originally heard on: Soul to Souls (2006)
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell (flute), Chieli Minucci (acoustic guitar)
6. Another Star (Nelson Rangell; Stevie Wonder cover)
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell (alto sax), Chieli Minucci (electric guitar)
7. Turning Night Into Day (Nelson Rangell)
Originally heard on: Turning Night Into Day (1997)
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell (alto sax), Steve Cole (tenor sax), Chieli Minucci (electric guitar)
8. Thursday (Steve Cole)
Originally heard on: Spin (2005)
Featured musicians: Steve Cole (tenor sax), Chieli Minucci (electric guitar), Steve Oliver (electric guitar), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
9. Going in Circles (Steve Cole; Friends of Distinction cover)
Originally heard on: Pulse (2013)
Featured musicians: Steve Cole (tenor sax), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
10. Chips and Salsa (Steve Oliver)
Originally heard on: 3D (2004)
Featured musicians: Steve Oliver (acoustic guitar, vocals), Chieli Minucci (acoustic guitar, vocals)
11. Sunlight Within (Steve Oliver)
Originally heard on: Global Kiss (2010)
Featured musician: Steve Oliver (acoustic guitar, vocals)
12. Mirage (Steve Cole)
Originally heard on: Turn It Up (2016)
Featured musicians: Steve Cole (tenor sax), Nelson Rangell (flute), Rohn Lawrence (electric guitar)
13. Sonora (Nelson Rangell; Hampton Hawes cover)
Originally heard on: Destiny (1995) (alto sax); My American Songbook, Vol. 1 (2005)
Featured musicians: Nelson Rangell (whistling/piccolo), Steve Oliver (acoustic guitar), Chieli Minucci (electric guitar)
14. Katy’s Groove (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: Smooth Ride (2016)
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards); Foran High School Advanced Vocal Ensemble, directed by Theresa Voss
15 (Finale). Cruise Control (Chieli Minucci)
Originally heard on: Butterfly (Special EFX) (2001)
Featured musicians: Everyone
Here are the pictures, starting with Jay Rowe:
The end-of-solo glide:
Rohn Lawrence:
Dave Anderson:
Trever Somerville:
Steve Scales:
Chieli Minucci on electric guitar:
Acoustic guitar:
Steve Oliver on acoustic guitar:
“Guitar symphony orchestra” intro to “Chips and Salsa”:
“Olé!”:
Electric guitar:
Vocals:
Nelson Rangell on alto sax:
Flute:
Chimes, at the beginning of “Sonora”:
Whistling on “Sonora”:
Piccolo:
Back to whistling:
Steve Cole:
Steve Oliver and Chieli:
“Tayyy-yo!”:
Chieli and Nelson:
Steve Cole and Nelson:
Nelson, Steve Cole, Chieli:
Steve Cole’s “wall of guitar” for “Thursday”:
The Foran High School Advanced Vocal Ensemble, directed by Theresa Voss, vocalized on “Katy’s Groove”:
The finale: “Cruise Control”:
Jay had many people to thank, but Rohn wanted to thank Jay:
With that, the 15th annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars was complete.
I had another engaging conversation with Nelson the following morning as I began editing pictures. I finished editing them on the drive home, which only took an hour and a half. Until next year, Milford.
Jeff Dunham at Carnegie Hall October 22, 2016
Posted by Mike C. in Comedy, Hockey, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Phone, Photography, Politics, Sports, Travel, TV, Video, Weather.Tags: Achmed, Bubba J, Carnegie Hall, Jeff Dunham, Peanut, Walter
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(10/26 UPDATE: I have censored the few curse words that were in the recap.)
(10/23 NOTE: An earlier version of this post incorrectly said Jeff’s show ran “about 70 minutes.” I have corrected that to read “2 hours and 13 minutes.”)
I was in Manhattan for the second night in a row yesterday. Thursday, I was down in Greenwich Village to see the Chick Corea Elektric Band. Yesterday, I was uptown at Carnegie Hall to see ventriloquist and comedian Jeff Dunham. Pictures weren’t allowed during the show, which was part of Jeff’s Perfectly Unbalanced Tour, but I took my plenty before and after. I had to use my iPhone 6 because mobile devices were all that were allowed.
This was my fourth time at Carnegie Hall, but the first time in the Stern Auditorium. My previous three trips were to see pianist Lisa Hilton in the intimate Weill Recital Hall.
Jeff Dunham and his crew made their way to Carnegie at around 4:30. Jeff posted live video of the walk to Facebook:
About an hour after that streaming video, I left the house for the Wantagh LIRR station. It was the last day of a warm and humid air mass. Nonetheless, like Thursday night, I wore my green spring squall jacket in case of rain. There was nary a drop; only fog and mist when I returned six hours later. There had been rain earlier in the day, but while I waited for the 5:59 train for Penn Station, Wantagh was in between rain bands. The band to the east must have been intense because there were impressive cumulonimbus clouds:
Low cumulus clouds set in starting in Queens, appearing dark against the setting sun.
There were New York Islanders fans on the train through Jamaica. They changed there for the Atlantic Terminal train to Barclays Center where the Islanders went on to beat the Arizona Coyotes 3-2.
The train arrived at Penn Station at 6:55. From there, I took the E train to West 53rd Street and walked four blocks to Carnegie Hall.
Once there, the crowd had to wait until 7:30 for the Stern Auditorium doors to open. After getting a bottle of water, I got to my balcony seat. Trivia, social media posts, and pictures were shown on the monitor:
The ceiling:
There was a welcome announcement at 8:03 following by three intro videos at 8:06. Since they’re from Jeff’s YouTube channel, I’ve included them below:
After an auto-tune montage, the show officially began at 8:16. The voice of Achmed the Dead Terrorist announced Jeff and he walked on stage. I looked at him on the monitor most of the time since I was so high up.
I took ten pages of notes in a 7 x 5 notebook. Below are some of those notes. I’ll try not to give too much away.
Jeff’s opening act:
- Informal election vote: Hillary – cheers, Donald – more cheers
- Why he’s a ventriloquist
- Family – daughters, Audrey, twin boys
- How Jeff and Audrey found out they were having twins, Jack and James
- The twins’ birth
- Changing diapers in NICU
- Breastfeeding
- Baby pictures – meme photo (“I CAME OUT OF YOUR WHAT???”), then actual photos: their first birthday, Jeff holding them like dumbbells, at Disneyland
- Left stage, came back
- Videotaping show to include message to sons when they’re older
After the opening act, it was time to open the boxes and bring out the characters. Walter came first:
- “Oh, shut the hell up! (mocking laugh)”
- Joke about New Jersey
- How do you get to Carnegie Hall? “Uber.”
- Joke about auditorium appearance
- Sick of election garbage – doesn’t like either candidate – like going in for colonoscopy
- Cut to a video:
- Plug for Jeff’s YouTube channel – about to reach one million subscribers
- Another video:
- “You know, folks tell me that I should run for president”
- Wife
- Life after death
- “If Trump becomes president, José’ll be out of the show” (a reference to José Jalapeño on a Stick)
- Being an older parent
- “Say good night, Walter.” “Thanks, everybody!”
Before bringing out the next character, Jeff announced that his next special will be taped in Dublin, Ireland, in May for Netflix. It will debut in August. The theme will be family. Jeff found out he is of Irish descent. To that end, a new character he tried out at Carnegie Hall was an Irish baby he was trying to get adopted:
- Big head
- Adult voice with brogue
- Influenced by the other characters (“I keel you” from Achmed)
- Much smarter than apparent age
- Cursing (from Peanut)
- Mother gave him up for adoption
- Vaccination/shots – “Gin, rum, vodka”
- Can’t walk, but can pub crawl
- “All the drunks just think I’m a leprechaun”
- “And that’s the new baby!”
Bubba J:
- “I’m doin’ pretty good!”
- “…watchin’ NASCAR and drinkin’ beer”
- Twins
- Wife
- Running for president
- “Press the flesh”
- Debate/da bait, defense/da fence, Syria/Siri
- Fracking: “Me and the wife are down to once a month”
- “Say good night, Bubba J”
Peanut:
- “Dat’s goooooooooood!”
- (singing): “New York…..”
- “Two infants at your age, how the hell did that happen?!”
- Running gags (toward Jeff, into mic): “’cause you’re old”, “’cause you’re an a**h***”, “’cause I’m an a**h***”
- Porn riff (“chicka-chicka-wow-wow”) – baby-related dirty talk
- Caffeine zaniness – “It’s great!”, “Yes!”
- Coffee enema
- Lost a shoe – “No, dude, I found one”
- Peanut fell off and his mouth was stuck open – after a few minutes of incoherent speech (“ahh***”), Jeff closed it
- “Jeff-fa-fa”
- “Nnnnnnyeow!”
- Spoke to two men in the front row
- Hearing aid joke (pretending to cut out)
Achmed the Dead Terrorist:
- “Most beloved terrorist throughout the world”
- Achmed’s origin story – tried out Dead Osama a year after 9/11, six blocks from Ground Zero – crowd loved act – retooled as Achmed starting in Spark of Insanity
- “Greetings, American infidels!”
- Usama Bin Laden is “dead dead”
- “Do you know me, infidels?!” – cheers – “Thank you, I keel you (2x)”
- “Achhhhhmed”
- “It’s not funny!”
- “Silence! I keel you!” – cheers – “Thank you, I keel you”
- Achmed’s many kids: “…and Steve”
- Games
- Life story: “Once upon a time, (boom!). The end.”
- Presidential election
- “Oh! Bomb! Ah!”
- Questions: “Dear Achmed…” – by my count, 19 questions – Favorite breakfast cereal: “Life” – Hugh Jorgen (huge organ): “I can’t believe you fell for that!” – Legs fell off, then arms, then ribcage
After one last joke, that was it. Since it was over, I resumed photography. There was one last bit of business for Jeff: a crowd selfie with his wife Audrey.
Here’s how that selfie looked:
As you can see, balcony members weren’t in the picture, but I don’t mind.
In all, Jeff was on stage for 2 hours and 13 minutes, leaving the stage at 10:29.
I took a selfie of my own a few minutes later:
Then, I made my way down the stairs, through the lobby, and out the door. Merchandise was available in the lobby:
Rather than walk back to West 53rd Street to take the E train again, I walked to 59th Street-Columbus Circle station.
I took the 1 train back to Penn Station:
I would have taken the 11:08 LIRR train to Wantagh, but there happened to be an 11:01 express train that didn’t make local stops until Wantagh. So, I boarded that one. There were some passengers that didn’t realize it was an express and had to change at Jamaica for the later, entirely-local train. It only took 43 minutes to get to Wantagh! Now that’s what I call express! I wouldn’t have arrived until 20 minutes later had I taken 11:08 train.
Thus ended my six-hour adventure. Jeff was hilarious, as always. I wish the show was available on video so I could watch it again and again. My notes and memories will have to do until then.
While I slept, Jeff was live on Facebook as his YouTube channel surpassed one million subscribers!
Congratulations, Jeff, and thank you to fans like me for getting the channel to a million and beyond.
Two WCWP Homecoming Weekend shows September 28, 2015
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Phone, Radio.2 comments
I’ll be doubling my pleasure on WCWP’s Homecoming Weekend as Instrumental Invasion with Mike Chimeri will air twice. The first show kicks off the weekend next Friday, October 9, at noon Eastern. It’ll be my first live homecoming show since 2009. The second show will be pre-recorded, as my previous four shows were, and will air Sunday, October 11, at 2AM Eastern. The above picture is from the end of my pre-record session a few days ago.
You can listen locally on 88.1 FM or at WCWP.org. You can also listen on the TuneIn app. Just search WCWP.
The live show will include Ken Navarro, Brian Simpson, The Jeff Lorber Fusion, and two by Nelson Rangell.
The pre-recorded show is dedicated to songs from albums released between 1965 and 2015, sans 1970. Expect to hear Vince Guaraldi, Return to Forever, Ramsey Lewis, Bobby Lyle, and many more.
Outside of those two shows, I’ll be at the WCWP-FM 50th Anniversary Reception at LIU Post’s Great Hall on Thursday, October 8, and at Post’s various Homecoming activities on Homecoming Day, Saturday, October 10. Late Saturday afternoon, the 2016 inductees to the WCWP Hall of Fame will be announced. I look forward to catching up with my fellow alumni.
I hope you’ll listen to WCWP all weekend long. Homecoming Weekend shows begin at noon next Friday with me and end at midnight on Sunday (early Monday morning).
WCWP Homecoming Weekend show to air October 19 October 6, 2014
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Phone, Radio.add a comment
I was on the campus of LIU Post on Friday to record my annual Homecoming Weekend radio show for WCWP, the campus radio station which I was originally part of from October 2001 to May 2004. CJazzPlus with Mike Chimeri will air very early on Sunday, October 19, at 2AM Eastern (Saturday, October 18, at 11PM Pacific) on 88.1 FM and WCWP.org. If you are outside of the signal range, choose the latter (WCWP.org) or browse for WCWP on the TuneIn mobile app.
In the two hours of CJazzPlus, I’ll be playing The Jeff Lorber Fusion, Mindi Abair, Gerald Albright, Brian Culbertson, and many more, including one of my favorites by the recently departed Joe Sample. The show took just over two hours to record and an extra hour to edit, plus additional time editing at home on Saturday.
The name CJazzPlus comes from a short-lived Live365 station of mine from late 2010. It’s short for “contemporary jazz plus.” The “plus” refers to various sub-genres of jazz and instrumentals from other genres. I try to go beyond what you’d hear on a typical smooth jazz station, such as SiriusXM’s Watercolors.
Hours before the show airs, on Saturday, October 18, I’ll be at for Post for their Homecoming festivities, as well as for WCWP’s. The latter of those includes the announcement of 2015 inductees to the WCWP Hall of Fame. I look forward to that announcement as much as I look forward to the annual announcements of National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees and Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinees. My guess is as good as yours. You’ll have to listen that afternoon to find out who got in this time.
Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk September 29, 2014
Posted by Mike C. in Fire, Health, Internet, Military, News, Personal, Phone, Photography, Police, Travel, TV.add a comment
I was in New York City yesterday for the annual Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers 5K Run and Walk. I signed up back in May after my dad recommended it to me. He was impressed by all the running I had done, and at such a fast pace. The fast pace back then occurred on the treadmill, but that has extended to the outdoors since I signed up. September alone was a landmark month for me, as I routinely ran 3.6 miles in about 38 minutes. Conditioning like that prepared me for yesterday.
The day began dark and early at 4:30 AM when my alarm clock woke me up. I tried to go to sleep early and get a decent amount of hours in, but I was only able to get about three hours of sleep. I spent about an hour getting ready and was out the door with my dad at 5:30.
We traveled to Point Lookout with eleven others from Dad’s firehouse, Freeport Excelsior Hook and Ladder Co. 1. There, we joined a bigger team from Point Lookout Lido Fire Department’s 2nd Battalion.
I didn’t bring my Nikon D5100, settling on my iPhone 5 for all pictures seen in this recap.
Three buses took us to Red Hook, Brooklyn. Our Freeport team boarded first of those three.
We arrived in Red Hook shortly before 9:00.
20 minutes later, we began the long stop-and-go walk to the starting line.
Along the way, we passed Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Church:
Their bell rang as we passed by.
Almost at the starting line:
And away we went!
I didn’t think I’d be able to run because of the amount of people participating. But once we crossed the starting line, I did run, though not for the entire 5K.
The Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel (aka Hugh L. Carey Tunnel):
As I ran and walked through the tunnel, music was pumped in through speakers and various runners yelled patriotic chants. It was surreal, but I enjoyed it.
The tunnel seemed to go on forever. While 1.73 miles is a mere two minutes by car, in light traffic, I was in there for 25 minutes on foot.
The light at the end of the tunnel:
When I was out, I was greeted by the sight of One World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan:
Freeport native Richie Muldowney was one of the 343 FDNY firefighters lost on 9/11:
A view of Jersey City across the Hudson River:
50 minutes after I started…
…I crossed the finish line:
My official time, listed here (search chimeri), was 0:50:36.
On my way back, there were two early buses and one late bus. The early buses were full, so I and most of the Freeport team had to wait for the late bus. While we waited, we had lunch at Greenwich Street Tavern in TriBeCa.
We were finished eating just in time to board the late bus back. It took nearly two hours to return to Point Lookout due to heavy traffic, and a half hour to return home to Wantagh.
The Tunnel to Towers 5K Run and Walk was an amazing and awesome (in the literal sense) experience. If you haven’t signed up for it before, I recommend you try it at least once.
9/30 UPDATE: The full text results can be seen here.
One year with Nike Running iPhone app May 13, 2014
Posted by Mike C. in Health, Personal, Phone, Technology.add a comment
Today marks one year since I first used the Nike Running app on my iPhone 5. My first run was 2.91 miles outdoors. Since then, I’ve run as far as 5.74 miles indoors, and that was just last week. So far this month, I’ve run more miles than I did in the rest of May last year.
By a month and a half after I started using the app, I had lost five pounds. Unfortunately, I gained it back in the two months that followed, due in part to junk food indulgence and less running (due to high heat and humidity). Since then, I’ve run farther and more often each month, and I’ve had more days of healthy eating. As a result, I’ve lost 20 pounds.
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.
MikeChimeri.com 
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:
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.