ESP Records

ESP Rccords was one of the more esoteric record labels that came about in the sixties. They were New York based and featured a lot of modern jazz and beat writers. I was watching the recent PBS program on Sun Ra when it occurred to me that I had an excerpt of him on my "ESP Records Sampler". As a young man I often ventured in the city and perused record stores and bought cheap jazz records. In Times Square. I discovered this sampler for 99 cents. I brought it back to my college dorm and impressed the Beat generation followers across the hall with the record which featured Ismael Reed, Allen Ginsberg, the Fugs, Gregory Corso, and William S. Burroughs. Each selection was about a minute long so listening to the album was a disjuncted  if interesting experience. 

Side One on YouTube     Side Two on You Tube

Tariffs

 

Here is a brief history of tariffs in the United States. An update on yesterday's NPR Marketplace,

There is a rumour that everyone is going to get thousands of dollars as a refund on the Trump tariffs. I am divided on renting a summer place in Rehoboth and getting a new car. 

Cheap toilet paper is better for your plumbing

 

Cheap toilet paper is better for plumbing, at least according to this article. It's nice to find out about something that is cheaper and better at the same time. Does not happen often. Personally I like the nice scratchiness of cheaper bathroom tissue. 

Retirement in bad weather

 

When you have a job, a snowstorm might mean a day off. Unfortunately, the next day means back to work. You get up early, do some last minute shoveling, then scrape ice off of your windshield. Then you drive to work, After a few swear words you are at work and walk in the doors of the office (or in my case, the library). Life at the office begins. Unless you up to a brisk walk at lunchtime you are in the world of work, work tasks, work gossip, and you forget about the weather. 

When you are retired, you are preoccupied with the weather. You check the temperature every hour. You check the weather report every hour. You are engrossed with news stories about the storm. You methodically plan a trip to the supermercado. You run to the window every time you think you hear the snow plow. Alas no snow plow. You watch the local news to see how other cities are doing. You think, "Boy I'm glad I don't live in Reading."

When you are retired, you are constantly preoccupied with the weather. You become your parents.  Just like in that insurance commercial.

Uncle Floyd died

 

In 1974 I graduated from college with no job awaiting. It was the recession and I had been an English major and I moved back home. I got a job selling hot dogs at Two Guys, traveled to California, eventually through family connections got a CETA job. During all this time I got in the habit of  watching Uncle Floyd on UHF channel 68. At that time UHF was known for its less than perfect reception. I could get ghosty images for channel 31, WNYC television and channel 68 which featured Uncle Floyd. Similar to Soupy Sales, Uncle Floyd was a local live tv show ostensibly for children but was picked up by older kids and adults who should have known better. I even have his big hit single, Deep in the Heart of Jersey. 

Over the years he migrated from station to station, from format to format. I remember he did a show where he showcased different main streets in the state. When I was a librarian in Bloomfield, the public cable station, also located in the library, featured him in a benefit show. I got to see him by sneaking into the Little Theatre during coffee break. 

Uncle Floyd had a varied career, but will always be remembered as the one New Jersey celebrity more precious in a way because unlike Frank or Bruce, you can identify yourself as a New Jersey native by your knowledge of this great New Jersey icon. Flags should be at half-staff tomorrow to commemorate Uncle Floyd. 

Predictions for 2026

 

                                      My predictions from a year ago for end of year, 2025:

                                       Dow Jones          45169

                                       S and P                6275

                                       NASDAQ           22530

                                       Unemployed        5.2%

                                       Microsoft             440

                                       Texas Crude Oil    90

                                       CPI                       3%

                                         

                                         Actual numbers for end of 2025:

                                                          

                                        Dow Jones          48063

                                        S and P                6845.5

                                        NASDAQ            23242

                                        Unemployed        4.6%

                                        Microsoft      483.62

                                        Texas Crude Oil   57.46

                                         CPI                      2.7%

                                     Predicted numbers for end of 2026:

                                                          

                                        Dow Jones         50000

                                        S and P               7200

                                        NASDAQ           25000

                                        Unemployed       5%

                                        Microsoft            500

                                        Texas Crude Oil   70

                                        CPI                     4%

This coming year, I predict a downturn in the market due to reappraisal of AI in the spring, followed by a mild revival by the end of the year. Trump will have a bad year, first with the Supreme Court, then with overwhelming victories by the Democratic party in both houses of Congress. As the year concludes, Trump will have resigned, ostensibly for health reasons, and the president will be JD Vance. The Ukraine war will continue. 

The Eagles will be in the playoffs but not the Superbowl. Tariffs will stay with us as the Democrats discover in future years that it provides income for programs they want without the political consequences of having to increase the regular income tax. 

Happy New Year!

I have swag

 

Today was a cold and windy day and I came to the supermarket dressed for the weather. I was waltzing through the aisles looking for lemon in a squeeze bottle. A young lady came up to me and exclaimed, "I love your swag! You are so perfectly put together. If you were in New York photographers would want to take your picture!"

I said, "But this coat is thirty years old".  

I have photographed what I was wearing. A crummy wool cap. A scarf I bought in Goodwill Industries forty years ago. A stained Field and Stream ski jacket from the eighties. I also was wearing a Levi pair of dad jeans, white socks, and sneakers. I had no idea I was wearing the latest in hipster fashion. 

My uncle Lawrence used to wear a tweed suit he probably bought after World War 2 ended. My mother said he wore clothing so out of date that it became fashionable again.  As we get older, we become like our relatives.