Every time I hear/see a network promo for a baseball game from the early to mid-1980s (an example of which follows the Billy/George ad), I get this indescribable feeling that I think is a mix between nostalgia and excitement. Even though I love baseball as much, if not more than I did back then (which is kind of scary), the scarcity of games on TV made those broadcasts extra special. Thankfully, YouTube, Ebay and MLB.com have lots of clips, original broadcasts and streams to bring those memories back to life.

[1] Completely agree..it's funny but so many things from my youth remind me of baseball, especially tv commercials. When I think of Crazy Eddie, Carvell, the Money Store, or Jacoby & Myers, I also immediately think of WPIX and Yankees games.

Ummm..maybe I don't know how YouTube actually works but...just typing in the "Money Store" there and related posts including Carvell and Crazy Eddie come up..am I missing something here or is that just a coincidence??

[2] Jazz, they just recently closed the original Carvel store in Hartsdale, NY; the one that Tom Carvel opened after his ice cream truck broke down at that very spot and he started selling ice cream out the back of the truck. I just don't know how to feel about that...

[2] don't forget the ubiquitous "garden state brickface & stucco" commercials! man, Carvel RULES!!! we actually have one here not too far from me, but i never go. it's kind of a tradition for me to go when i'm in NY - like this coming weekend!

WPIX brings back all kindsa memories from growing up. i used to "play" that TV PIXX all the time, or whatever it was. wasn't the Great Space Coaster on Ch. 11? Gary Gnu and G'morning News!!!

man, i can hear Rizzuto, Seaver & White in my inner ear as i typed that out. my "outer" ears, are hearing Bobby Hutcherson - Patterns : )

[4] [5] Jayzuz guys..are you sure you aren't really my cousins or something?? :) Carvel flying-saucers... everything got to go sometime I guess, Chyll.

Rizzuto & White was such a good partnership. and that Hutcherson is great!! He was here last year I think, but tix about $100...had to pass unfortunately. next time for sure!

[3] I don't know about you, but in my list I got The Pet Shop Boys (!)

[4] you should feel terribly sad! that's awful news. but, then again, in the grand scheme of things...freddie hubbard died today and todd drew has had serious health issues, so that gives some perspective. as long as ALL the Carvel's don't close, we'll be alright! i like to call it "Cravel", as i crave it all the time! only 1 "L" at the end Jazz Tokyo!!! : )

growing up in Far Rockaway, i always went to the one in Inwood, right on the bend of the road. not the Inwood near da Bronx, the one just in on Long Island, near JFK. i can totally see myself as a little boy standing in there w/ my parents and brother. i can see the whole store, even smell it! man, i can't wait to go get me a soft chocolate cone next weekend!!!

[7] dude, pet shop boys are worse than the original carvel closing!!! stay away from groups like depeche mode, erasure, the cure and morrissey - the ice cream might melt!!!

[6] what's funny is - if you, chyll & me stood next to each other, we'd probably make a total motley crew! but, yeah, i'd say cousins is cool!!! : )

yeah man, $100 for a Hutch ticket is just too damn much. i *just* got 2 live shows from 1969 in France - the Hutch/Harold Land band. i'm not much a live bootleg guy, but they were given to me a day or two ago. i can always burn 'em for you, if you want/need them. Patterns, is hard to find. i THINK i have all the good 60's solo Hutch on BN. you can never tell - there's always some little known session that's either been unreleased on cd or was only out for a second and now impossible to find. i've got 10 of his solo BN's from the 60's. would you be an authority on what he has and what's been released?!

[6] I don't feel deprived, there's a Carvel stand about three blocks from my house. Great date spot during the summer, though now Carvel stands stay open during the winter too.

Cousins, eh? Anythings possible, I always say. Oh um, guys, I gotta apologize if my chyll seems a bit more rabid lately, as there is absolutely nothing happening for us PAs and the boredom and cabin fever is corroding my nerves. I really can't wait for baseball to start up again... >;)

[9] Oh come now, I know better than that!

[11] no apologies necessary, my friend! i can't wait for b-ball either, but i'll tell ya what - i'm getting a bit more done w/out it consuming soooo much of my days & nights & mind. i still find lotsa baseball to read, but i'm actually spending time w/ my massive music collection and in the throes of completing another VERY weird drumset/mallet composition. it's easier for me to do this in the offseason!

mmm, carvel 3 blocks away... (homer simpson voice)

[10] Huge Hutch fan, got a bunch on cd and some other on the Mac, acquired by various means... :)

Check out some Oshima Nagisa films if you can, will keep the mind working hard to try and figure out what he's all about!

[12] HA!

we used to have some old school metalheads 'round these parts. that's my other encyclopedic knowledge and collecting habit. cult of basebaal, was great for metal, jazz, music in general and he was incredibly baseball savvy and smart. i hope he'll make his way to the new Banter once the season starts. i should really shoot him an email or text message one of these days!

[14]
Bobby Hutcherson – The Kicker
Bobby Hutcherson – Dialogue
Bobby Hutcherson – Components
Bobby Hutcherson – Happenings
Bobby Hutcherson – Stick-Up!
Bobby Hutcherson – Oblique
Bobby Hutcherson – Patterns
Bobby Hutcherson – Total Eclipse
Bobby Hutcherson – Medina/Spiral

for now, i'm staying away from some of the 70's titles like Now, Head On, San Francisco, etc. eventually, i'll probably pick 'em up. i think the above list is pretty complete for mid-late 60's...

[16] got Dialogue, Components, Happenings (my fave), Stick-Up, Oblique and Patterns. will check out the others soon. San Francisco is great though, not at ALL bland funky fusion!

[13] Homer would have mixed feelings about where I live. There are three Dunkin' Donuts, a KFC, two Mickey D's, a Burger King, 4+ pizza parlors, several chinese food places, bunches of Cariibbean restaurants, dozens of bodegas and four "Super-Bodegas" all within walking distance. But, they're all up and down hills...

I'd get a whole lot more done if I was in a much quieter house, but sadly I live underneath what has basically turned into a barn, and the associated distractions add to the pleasure that is off-season. I tell ya', I've got to get an agent! >;)

Chyll, you a Japanese film fan at all?? can`t remember if asked you that before..slowly bilding up the collection over here, no subtitles though!

[16] Cool, gotta check these out. I probably have come across a lot of these cats you guys mention, but never knew the titles or people associated with them. Butif you two endorse them, they're worth checking into...

[20] Hot Stove Jazz chat always a good time-filler...wow, they are killing Brett Favre on the rdaio (podcast) now..not a big NFL guy, has he really been given a free pass for a long time??

no news yet about Pettite...hope they can get him in for one year at least

[17] dude, you've got a great hutch collection! the kicker, was his first and done a coupla years earlier than the other stuff. it was essentially Grant Green's Idle Moments - same exact band. that session went so well, they were assembled under bobby's name only one week later. that session wasn't nearly as magical and remained in the can for like 35 years. the late stuff, is hard to find and with harold land - really terrific stuff!!!

[18] i hear ya and sympathize. i'm upstairs from the barn. it got REALLY bad a coupla weeks ago. i complained hardcore to the manager here. it's definitely been better, but it's not ideal. i hear them now; i just hope it's quiet when i go to bed soon. i need to get up early tomorrow and i am NOT a morning person. i'm in the midst of looking to buy a house though. meeting w/ my realtor tomorrow! can't wait to not have downstairs neighbors anymore!!!

[21] i hope pettitte comes back, too. we can use his innings...

[19] I'm building as well: Ikuru, Stray Dog, Roshomon, The Bad Sleep Well (oh I HATED the ending), Seven Samurai, High And Low, the Yakuza Stories, Zatoichi (vintage and Beat Takeshi versions) Yojimbo, Howell's Moving Castle, Spirited Away and I'm Netflixing a dozen more... (i don't have the heart to watch "Grave of the Fireflies" just yet) I'm trying to think of what I have of more recent vintage, but I haven't watched a lot of recent Japanese flix. There are a few sites I keep up with for Asian cinema though; two of them are Love HK Film and KFC Cinema... now if you were to ask me about Kung Fu Theatre >;)

Did you know that (gulp) Keanu Reeves is involved in the production of the live version of Cowboy Bebop? He's obviously gunning for Spike...

[24] Good stuff, didn't know that about Keanu..shudder....

check out Oshima Nagisa, Imamura Shohei, and the greatest of masters Ozu Yasuhiro (his most famous is "Tokyo Story"). off to the shops, will hit your blog for more J-film talk

[22] Good luck with the house-hunting, man. I'm saving money to maybe move a little further upstate now that I have a car. Actually, I'll go anywhere the movie industry takes me; I applied for a feature in Philly as an Art PA; I'd sleep in the back of my car if I had to for that rather than have to endure all the bleeding and work stoppage up here, guv'nah...

thanks, chyll! it's a major major deal, but i'm ready to do it. i hope the place i found works out! the next coupla weeks will be pretty telling, methinks. good luck, with finding a gig and a new place, when it's time! i'm gonna try to get some shuteye. 'night guys!

[25] I know about Ozu and Tokyo Story's on the list. Have fun! G'nite Thelarmis! Ice cream awaits! >;)

Two words .... "11 ..Alive!"

"The Bowery ... The Bowery ... The Bowery saves a lot ... The Bowery saves 6 percent ... while others ... simply do not."

Oh, man, these posts bring up memories. I really miss Crazy Eddie. Didn't the owner of the chain get indicted for being tied to the Israeli mob?

I think my favorite was from the early 1980s when WPIX was looking for a new symbol for Channel 11. They had some idiot who was always in frame with the twin towers behind him asking "what would be a great symbol for channel 11?" I was a kid and I would yell "the twin towers!" at the TV. Man they were ugly, but I used to see them outside my window on Bleecker Street. I miss those ugly towers.

One thing I won't miss is more brick face and stucco. That was a blight on the NYC area for years!

That Billy and George commercial brings back great memories. What a wild and crazy time.

[30] holy shit, crazy eddie! that now reminds me of Uncle Phil - the record store (chain?) out on the Island. my brother had some really good finds there. man, was uncle phil an ugly dude!

i was able to see the twin towers from my parents' backyard sometimes if i stood on the low roof, deck railing or a certain tree at the right angle. apparently, when they were being built, my pop was really against it - said they were too big and asking for trouble. my old man was rather prescient....

and to think: #11 - knoblauch, iron sheff (499 HR!), bernie allen, buck showalter, sandy alomar, erick almonte, tommy byrne, ownie carroll, rick cerone, rip collins, david dellucci, morgan ensberg, brett gardner, lefty gomez, dwight gooden, toby harrah (mr. clutch w/ the tribe!), hector lopez, jerry lumpe, stick michael (thanks for the dynasty!), eyechart (mientkiewicz), joe page, herb pennock, curtis pride (love that guy!), bill robinson, gary roenicke, johnny sain, lenn sakata (i always see him as an Oreo), billy sample, mitch seone ('08 coach?!), don slaught, chicken stanley, jeff torborg, danny walton, chris widger (who can forget?!)