Meanwhile on the North Fork...........

[neonzx]

The back to school sales have begun.

The summer's over........

Our county school district starts back on Thursday, the 10th. The annual back-to-school sales tax holiday just ended yesterday.

And summer is not over here. If you need more summer, take a trip to SW Florida. The heat index was 122 in the sun and 112 in the shade. Plenty of summer for you to enjoy.
....

On bleu cheese, I was always a fan from a very young age. The dressing or just sliced chunks. I was a weird kid maybe.

[Volkonski]

Hm, 122F isn't summer. It is the temperature you cook a rare steak to.

[RTH10260]

Like the blood is boiling in your veins ?

[Volkonski]

I have never before requested a song on the local Oldies station. Tonight however it occurred to me that I have never heard one of my favorite summer songs on that station. The song is "Summer Nights" by Marianne Faithfull from 1965.

Seemed like an odd omission for an Oldies station that plays many different summer songs starting in May and continuing thru September.

So I looked up the DJ's email and sent in a request signing it G...... in Jamesport.

A few minutes later he played it. Then he said that the request came from G...... in Jamesport and he was happy to get the request because he didn't know the song.

Seriously? It was one of the big summer song hits back in the days of beach party movies. I recall listening to it on the Boston top 40 radio stations that summer.

Well, now that he knows it, that song might get some more airplay.

By the way, Marianne Faithfull suffers from long Covid and is living in a care home.

[neonzx]

I have never before requested a song on the local Oldies station. Tonight however it occurred to me that I have never heard one of my favorite summer songs on that station. The song is "Summer Nights" by Marianne Faithfull from 1965.

Seemed like an odd omission for an Oldies station that plays many different summer songs starting in May and continuing thru September.

So I looked up the DJ's email and sent in a request signing it G...... in Jamesport.

A few minutes later he played it. Then he said that the request came from G...... in Jamesport and he was happy to get the request because he didn't know the song.

Thanks for sharing. I'd never heard it. It is short... under 2 minutes. Why were songs so short back in those days?

Also interesting that you have an actual radio station with a *LIVE* DJ outside drive-time silliness hours. Here our radio is all pre arranged/programmed with necessary commercial breaks. There is no emailing or phoning a DJ to request a song like we used to do because there is no DJ. Nice of him to digitally download that and play it for you and listeners.

[Volkonski]

Yes the local Oldies station has live DJs 24/7 except for 3 hours Sunday evenings when they play a syndicated Doo Wop program.

[Volkonski]

Getting back to song length, in the 50s and 60s pop song records were to a great extent 7 inch 45 rpm discs which had a maximum time per side of 5 minutes. This put an upper limit on the length of hit songs. Before 45 rpm discs 12 inch 78 rpm records had about the same time limit.

Note that shorter songs could be written and recorded at a lower cost than longer ones.

When it came to broadcasting shorter songs left more time for ads. DJs could play two 2 minute songs and two 30 second ads in the time needed to play one 5 minute song.

And let us not forget payola. It cost record companies less to bribe DJs to play short songs than long songs.

[Volkonski]

Mrs.V, my cousin from Massachusetts and Mrs.V's cousin from the DC area have found a new thrift store about 25 miles up Island. They are there now.

Our daughter and I are home taking care of the grandson, my cousin's doggie and our cats.

Fortunately doggie, cats and grandson get along.

[Volkonski]

Quiet evening on the Circle.

Mrs. V's cousin from DC and her crowd of daughters, granddaughters, husband and such have gone up Island for a LI Ducks minor league baseball game.

My Massachusetts cousin and her doggie are making an early night of it since they are taking the ferry back to New England tomorrow.

Rain in the forecast for tomorrow. May discourage the lawnmowers.

Of course that just means more mowers on Friday.

Oldies station's Ladies Night begins in 16 minutes.

[neonzx]

Getting back to song length, in the 50s and 60s pop song records were to a great extent 7 inch 45 rpm discs which had a maximum time per side of 5 minutes. This put an upper limit on the length of hit songs. Before 45 rpm discs 12 inch 78 rpm records had about the same time limit.

Note that shorter songs could be written and recorded at a lower cost than longer ones.

And then enter the 70s and EP records. And Vietnam and Nixon were the raging issues. It was no longer bubble-gum music that sold the youth. We had rock operas.

[Volkonski]

Rain arrived about 2 PM.

No lawnmowers.

Breezy.

With the rain grandson can't get his sleep inducing rides around the Circle. Daughter and Mrs. V finally got him to sleep using the rocking chair. Mrs. V has gone upstairs for a nap.

DC cousin et al went to the Tanger outlet mall.

I have the Circle to myself.

[Volkonski]

OMFSM!

Rain or no rain our lawn service has arrived to mow regardless.

[Volkonski]

And.......they are gone .

[neonzx]

OMFSM!

Rain or no rain our lawn service has arrived to mow regardless.

I refer to them as Mow, Blow, and Go Must be a profitable gig. $$$

[Volkonski]

Rainy evening. So loud it is hard to hear the radio.

[RTH10260]

Rainy evening. So loud it is hard to hear the radiolawnmowers.

FIFY

[Volkonski]

Second day of perfect North Fork weather.

This is our daughter's and grandson's last day here.

So Mrs. V, her cousin from DC, our daughter and grandson are headed to Greenport to hit the thrift stores. Then when they get back our daughter and DC cousin's daughters (their last day also) will go out for lunch while we babysit.

I am already in position on the downstairs porch.

[Volkonski]

Tomorrow is the 60th anniversary of the local Oldies station (The place to be since '63.).

Must sign up for a chance to win $60 tomorrow.

[Volkonski]

Peaceful late afternoon.

Surprisingly few lawnmowers today. No idea why.

[Volkonski]

Heavy rain overnight. Just stopped in time for the DC cousin's children and grandchildren to depart.

Our daughter and grandson will leave for the airport in about 2 hours.

[Volkonski]

Mrs.V and her cousin from the DC area just dropped our daughter and grandson at the airport.

So with all the daughters and grandchildren gone home Mrs.V and cousin have reverted to type and are shopping at the Kohl's that is near the airport.

[Volkonski]

After Kohl's they drove back to the North Fork and had lunch at the Modern Snack Bar (now in its 73rd year).

[RTH10260]

For Mrs V and family

‘It’s vastly complex, even dangerous’: in defence of the recorder, the Marmite of the woodwind world
The 600-year-old school staple has recently faced news of an impending classroom extinction. But a network of passionate enthusiasts are working to ensure its survival

Kat Lister
Tue 15 Aug 2023 13.00 BST

It’s been well over 30 years since I first reached into a school crate and pulled out a plastic descant recorder, and yet I can still remember the visceral thrill I got from coaxing birdlike sounds with my fingers and mouth. I was a shy five-year-old – I hadn’t started speaking until I was two – and although it might seem corny to suggest that this eight-holed baton acted as some kind of magical wand for my confidence, I don’t think that my trills and toots are wholly unrelated. They gave me a voice.




https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/ ... wind-world

[Volkonski]

But what is the problem with Marmite? Delicious on toast. Lots of B vitamins. Stir it into hot water for a winter time drink.

[Volkonski]

Starting to have some autumnal weather. Overcast, rain, highs in the low 70s.