Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 7/13 - Punks & Hunks

RIP Tommy Ramone, 65, drummer of the seminal punk band The Ramones. He was the last surviving member of the original lineup. The band formed in Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Despite achieving only limited commercial success, it was a major influence on the punk movement in the U.S. and, perhaps to a greater extent, the U. K.. All its members adopted pseudonyms ending with the surname "Ramone," although none were related. They performed 2,263 concerts, touring virtually nonstop for 22 years. In 1996, after completion of the Lollapalooza music festival, the band played a farewell concert and disbanded. As is common knowledge, the rock n roll life span is often brutally short. Lead singer Joey Ramone died at 49, guitarist Johnny Ramone at 55, bassist Dee Dee Ramone at 50. Despite limited commercial success, recognition of the band's importance built over the years, and they are now mentioned in many assessments of all-time great rock music, such as the Rolling Stone list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. In 2002 the Ramones were ranked the second-greatest band of all time by Spin magazine, trailing only the Beatles (Holy cow!). On March 18th 2002 the three founders and drummers Tommy and Marky Ramone were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2011 the group was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. I saw them perform at the Wollman Skating Rink in Central Park, circa 1980, a fun show. I vividly remember two young women dancing barefoot in the aisle, their feet as dirty as a homeless person's. The woman beside me remarked: "You've come a long way to see this concert." Puzzled, I replied: "I'm from Brooklyn." I later realized I was wearing the Kalamazoo Central Maroon Giants T-shirt my friend Judy, who attended the school, sent me as a gag. I coached football at crosstown  rival Loy Norrix. They are the schools I used as models in Adjustments. Here's a clip from a 1977 Ramones performance at CBGB. The ad can be skipped after a few seconds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kmUfWPeIRE (Facts culled from Wiki.)

Thankfully, the public will be spared the prolonged circus that occurred several years ago when Lebron James was deciding which team to take his talents to.

Congratulations to Mo Martin, 31, who won the Women's British Open, her first victory ever. The UCLA grad had not won in 63 tries on the LPGA tour. She did it in style, hitting the flag stick with a three wood from 240 yards on the final hole, setting up a six-foot birdie putt. She then waited as the leaders imploded in the windy conditions. Her previous cumulative earnings had been $599,760. Today she made $474,575.

My thanks to the young man who purchased six works of non-fiction, and to the woman who bought a book on dinosaurs in Russian.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx