The Bronx Bombers Got Bombed Last Night

Tuesday==>Last night out at Yankee Stadium, The House That Greed And Ego Built, was totally unpleasant weather-wise and game-wise as the lowly last-place Houston Astros kicked our injury-ridden butts 9-1.

Andy Pettitte had one of his worst starts ever, lasting only 4 1/3 innings, giving up 7 runs on 10 hits. And, our bats were dormant. We were never in the game.

It was windy and cold. A totally unpleasant experience and, in the name of fair and unbiased reporting, I must reveal that your favorite blogger fled at the beginning of the 7th inning. Enuff was enuff.

Tonight @ 7:05pm is the second game of the 3-game series and it will be Hiroki Kuroda (3-1) on the mound for the Yankees vs. Philip Humber (0-5) for Houston.

A bit more on the sports scene ...

Yesterday the Jets officially ended Timmy Tebow’s tenure with Gang Green. In my wildest imagination I could not have dreamed up a more horrifying experience for Timmy and his legion of fans.

I have no clue what the future holds for him in the NFL, or even if he has one.

IMHO==>The argument could be made that ownership has conspired to force him out of the League because of his religious beliefs that are such a visible part of his persona. Jus sayin’.

On that happy note, let’s move on to tonight’s entertainment event, an Off Broadway musical ...

7:00==>I'M A STRANGER HERE MYSELF - “Mark Nadler’s exploration of the Weimar Republic era in Germany delves deeply into the songs of the time, as well as into the lives of the people who wrote them and the people who were influenced by them.” (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket)

This show is playing at The York Theatre, one of my favorite venues. 

It is in the mid-60s at 1:00pm and Billi  Pod feels the need for a walk and wander session ... so ... 

Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>4.34 miles (or, 9,492 steps)

Total mileage since 7/1/12==>1,421.09 miles

GO YANKEES!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Thank You Dian & Marty

Monday==>A huge THANK YOU to Dian Crystal aka My Lady and Marty Kosarik aka Numnutz for my final 79th Birthday party yesterday. It went down like this ...

They arrived at PHC @ 5:30pm and Dian immediately ordered me to get ready to leave the apartment. I noted that when they came inside they only had a couple of small bags with them. 

Marty ordered pizza for us from a place in my immediate ‘hood, gave me the money and basically shoved me out of the door.

When I got back this was the door to the apartment ...

When I went inside I was greeted with balloons, hats, cupcakes and ... gasp ... an incredible 79-can Fresca pyramid.

Marty had ordered the seven 12-can Fresca cases from the local Food Emporium. Wow!!

We had pizza, then dessert, which was to-die-for cupcakes and Ben & Jerry’s Frozen Yogurt. AWESOME!!

When we finished I then signed the papers that Marty had brought. Frankly, I had forgotten that I had asked him to bring whatever they were. He just pointed to the place for me to sign and told me to sign it ... and I, of course, did.

As I finished I remember Dian saying ... “well, we are your family now ... so long Florida and South Carolina.” Still not sure what she meant by that.

I was also somewhat surprised at how quickly they left after I signed whatever it was ... oh well ... 

Food, fun, friendship and a 79-can Fresca pyramid ... it just doesn’t get any better than this.

THANK YOU DIAN AND MARTY!!

Moving on ... 

The Yankees swept the 4-game series with Toronto by winning yesterday’s game 3-2 on a 2-run homer from Lyle Overbay off of R.A. Dickey. Nice!

Tonight I will head out to Yankee Stadium, The House That Greed And Ego Built, for the 7:05pm game against  Houston. This will be the third game of my 12-game partial season ticket package. The weather is very iffy.

Andy Pettitte (3-1) will be on the mound for The Bronx Bombers vs. Lucas Harrell (2-2) for The Texans. 

OK, my loyal and faithful readers and followers, your favorite blogger has plenty of errands and chores to do today ... so ...

Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>2.09 miles (or, 4,583 steps)

Total mileage for week==>33.31 miles (average 4.76 miles per day)

Total mileage since 7/1/12==>1,414.66 miles (average 4.69 miles per day)

GO YANKEES!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Billi Pod Is Scared!!

BREAKING NEWS==>Billi Pod’s 79th Birthday Week comes to a close this evening when his theater-buddies Dian Crystal aka My Lady & Marty Kosarik aka Numnutz invade PHC @ 5:30pm for a “birday-potty,” their words.

OMFG!! When they arrive, I have been instructed/ordered that I MUST, repeat, MUST, leave my own apartment for at least 15-minutes. OMFG!!

When I posted about this “event” on my FaceBook Timeline I ended it with: “I think I am scared.” Well, Dian just posted the following response: “You SHOULD be scared!!!” OMFG???

What am I to do? WHAT???

Oh, well ... moving on ... or back ... or whatever ... 

Last night’s Carnegie Hall concert by the ORPHEUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA was simply wonderful.

The opening number was "Transfigured Night" by Schoenberg and it was beautiful but the highlight event was the second part of the program, a new work by the orchestra’s Composer-in-Residence, Gabriel Kahane, called “Gabriel’s Guide to the 48 States.”

This 40-minute song-cycle is composed by and performed by Kahane and is a tribute to a set of tour guides commissioned by the U.S. government back in the 1930s as part of the depression-era’s WPA.

The tour begins in California and ends in Manhattan. Kahane sings, narrates and plays a banjo and a guitar. It was wonderful and totally engrossing. The time flew by.

When it was over he and the orchestra received a roaring well-deserved standing ovation.

My comp. seat was super excellent, too, in the orchestra 10-rows from the stage.

I left the concert with a big smile on my face. I walked back to the apartment still processing the experience.

Yesterday afternoon the Yankees makeshift crew kept finding ways to win as we beat Toronto 5-4 on clutch hitting from Travis Hafner and a journeyman performance from our ace CC Sabathia.

This afternoon at 1:05pm it will be game 3 of the 4-game series out at Yankee Stadium, The House That Greed And Ego Built.

Phil Hughes (0-2) will be on the mound for the Bronx Bombers vs. R.A. Dickey (2-3) for the Blue Jays. 

I want to share something special with you loyal and faithful readers and followers ...

My oldest grandson Alex Falletta aka Army Guy, caught this 19lb. striped bass yesterday at Lake Murray in South Carolina. Awesome!!

He grilled the fish for dinner and said it was delicious and I am certain it was.

Way-to-go Army Guy!!

HAVE A GREAT REST OF THE WEEKEND EVERYONE AND, HOPEFULLY, BILLI POD WILL STILL BE ALIVE THIS TIME TOMORROW.

Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>4.35 miles (or, 9,520 steps)

Total mileage since 7/1/12==>1,414.66 miles 

GO YANKEES!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

THE GOOD BOY==>A-

Saturday==>A very happy Saturday morning to all of my loyal and faithful readers and followers out there in the morass known as cyberspace. I hope that each and everyone out there has a great weekend.

Let’s get this posting started with Billi Pod’s report card on last night’s Off Broadway show ...

THE GOOD BOY, about the performer/playwright Michael Bonnabel’s struggles growing up among hearing siblings in a family headed by deaf parents==>A-

Very interesting, well-performed and emotionally involving. Some of the issues dealt with, including death and disease, are pretty grim but the work is never depressing.

Toward the end Bonnabel becomes very emotional but this only draws the audience further into his basically uplifting story.

My minor quibble is that perhaps 10-minutes could be cut from the 90-minute, without intermission, running time.

The show is playing down at the Abingdon Theatre Complex on West 36th Street and runs through May 19th.

Billi Pod says==>see this show.

When the show was over I was able to watch the last innings of the YANKEES/TORONTO game @ Yankee Stadium, The House That Greed And Ego Built. It was a good and bad experience.

Good, because the Bronx Bombers won 6-4. 

Bad, because: (1) We lost both catcher Francisco Cervelli and pitcher Ivan Nova to injuries; and (2) the reported attendance for a Friday night game, with decent weather, was only 36,151.

Folks, somehow Yankee management has got to address this attendance issue. Trust me, in the old stadium the Friday night crowd would have been over 50,000.

This afternoon at 4:05pm it will be our ace CC Sabathia (3-2) vs. J.A. Happ (2-1) for the Blue Jays.

Moving on ...

Tonight’s entertainment event for your favorite blogger will be a classical music concert at Carnegie Hall ...

7:00==>ORPHEUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA @ Carnegie Hall.

The program is:

Schoenberg - Transfigured Night; and,

Kahane - Gabriel’s Guide to the 48 States

(concert - complimentary ticket)

It is another nice morning here in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World, and Billi Pod feels the need to walk and wander ... so ... 

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>3.60 miles (or, 7,881 steps)

Total mileage since 7/1/12==>1,410.31 miles 

GO YANKEES!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Great Time With Scott and Bernard

Friday==>Your favorite blogger is happy to report to all of you loyal and faithful readers and followers that he had a great time last night at his 79th birthday dinner hosted by John Scott Reed aka Fabson and Bernard Lam at the trendy pizzeria, Nicoletta, on 2nd Avenue, between 10th and 11th Streets, down in The East Village.

It was about 8:15pm when we met up. Dinner was excellent and we did a lot of catching up.

After dinner we walked over to a place called Momofuku Milk Bar (I have no clue what Momofuku means) on East 13th Street, where we had dessert. It was awesome.

THANK YOU GUYS SO VERY MUCH!!

When we split I then walked West on 13th Street to 9th Avenue and then North on 9th Avenue back to PHC on West 42nd Street. According to my Pedometer the distance was 2.85 miles.

On the walk back I listened to the last innings of the YANKEES/TORONTO game, which the Bronx Bombers won 5-3 on a clutch 3-run homer by Robbie Cano.

Tonight @ 7:05pm out at Yankee Stadium, The House That Greed And Ego Built, it will be game 2 of the 4-game series with Ivan Nova (1-3) on the mound for the Bombers vs. Josh Johnson (0-1) for the Blue Jays. Nova needs a good game to remain in the starting rotation.

Moving on to tonight’s entertainment event ...

8:00==>THE GOOD BOY - “Michael struggles to gain independence from his large, loving and complicated family, led by deaf parents. He yearns to bond with his emotionally distant father.” (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket)

This show is written and performed by Michael Bonnabel and it playing at the Abingdon Theatre Complex on West 36th Street.

It is a beautiful day here in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World, with blue skies and temperature of 54º at noon. Your favorite blogger feels the need for a major walk and wander session ... so ... will post this and then head out.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>4.22 miles (or, 9,222 steps)

Total mileage since 7/1/12==>1,406.71 miles 

GO YANKEES!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

Yesterday’s Doubleheader And Other Stuff, Too.

Thursday==>It is a bright, balmy, sunny day here in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World - 54º at noon.

Let’s get started with Billi Pod’s report card on yesterday’s entertainment doubleheader ... first ...

THE MADRID, about a mother who, for no apparent reason, cold-bloodily runs away from her family==>B

The acting was excellent but the story line is basically unbelievable and forced. I can certainly understand the mixed reviews.

Edie Falco did a nice job in the difficult role of the mother but it was Phoebe Strole as the daughter, Sarah, and Frances Sternhagen as the grandmother, Rose, who stole the show, IMHO.

The show runs through May 5th at the Manhattan Theatre Club on West 55th Street.

When the show was over I came back to PHC for the usual pre-theater snack, a fruit and cheese plate,  and then it was time to head uptown to Lincoln Center for my classical music concert ...

NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA @ Avery Fisher Hall==>WONDERFUL.

The highlight was Emanuel Ax performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 2. 

I also totally enjoyed Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3 and the 54-minute running time flew by.

When the concert was over I considered walking back to PHC so I could listen to the final innings of the YANKEES/RAYS game but the game was over by the time my concert finished. The Yankees lost 3-0 even though Andy Pettitte pitched a decent game. Our bats were just dead.

Tonight @ 7:05pm out at Yankee Stadium, The House That Greed And Ego Built, it will be game 1 of the 4-game series with Toronto. Hiroki Kuroda (2-1) will be on the mound for The Bronx Bombers vs. Mark Buehrie (1-0) for The Jays.

And ... speaking of tonight ... well ... I have something very special and it is ... tada ...

At 8:00pm John Scott Reed aka Fabson and Bernard Lam are treating me to a 79th birthday dinner at Nicoletta, an upscale pizzeria in The East Village.

Really looking forward to this because we have a lot of catching-up to do.

While I am talking about my 79th birthday==>I want to thank everyone who took the time to email, text, post, call etc. It really meant a lot to me.

There was one notable absence that I still don’t understand ... but ... what is, is ... so ... I gotta move on ... 

And this brings me to the future of my walking challenges ...

My plan is to continue recording my daily walking mileage in order to see how many miles I can log in the 12-month period that began back on July 1, 2012.

I want to thank my former law school roomie David West, now living in Paris, who provided the following information ... 

“FYI 

Google Maps shows if you walked from NYC to Bartow, you would have walked 1,151 miles and would have taken 377 hours. Congrats. 

David”

I hate to close on a downer ... but ... in the name of fair and unbiased reporting I have to share with you loyal and faithful readers and followers the fact that tomorrow’s concert, Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, with Styx, REO Speedwagon and Ted Nugent, was canceled. I was planning to attend with my theater-buddy Marty Kosarik.

Why? Well, this is from the Styx website ...

“Due to unforeseen logistical conflicts at IZOD Center, the concert originally scheduled for Friday, April 26 at IZOD Center has been canceled.

Unfortunately, as a result of production miscalculations on the part of the promoter, Metropolitan Entertainment, complications arose between college graduations scheduled for earlier that day and the concert event.

Regrettably, there is no rescheduled date.”

That sounds weird doesn’t it?

Oh well ... 

Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>4.37 miles (or, 9,552 steps)

Total mileage since 7/1/12==>1,402.49 miles 

GO YANKEES!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”