My The Big Bang Theory review is up on CliqueClack TV. While I was excited to watch this week's show as Wil Wheaton has been in my email circle from TV Squad and CliqueClack TV for years, it was Blossom who stole the show. Er, Mayim Bialik.
But I do hope they keep bringing Evil Wil back to irk Sheldon.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Survivor: Nicaragua - November 10th Episode Blog Party Post
Survivors Ready?
Welcome one, welcome all! The blog party is ready to start! Everyone is welcome to join in with comments as the show airs here on the East Coast or even later in West Coast time. As the show airs, I'll post major events here, but the real fun and most of the reactions are in the comments section. See you there!
They ended up with men vs. women on a rough reward challenge. The men won (zipline, feast, etc.). Chase sat out and thought the women would win, so he's with them (women).
Brenda won immunity in a memory game challenge -- it was between her and Marty at the end.
My pool boy Marty got the boot. I'm not sorry to see him go.
They ended up with men vs. women on a rough reward challenge. The men won (zipline, feast, etc.). Chase sat out and thought the women would win, so he's with them (women).
Brenda won immunity in a memory game challenge -- it was between her and Marty at the end.
My pool boy Marty got the boot. I'm not sorry to see him go.
Sunday, November 07, 2010
The Amazing Race - Nov. 7 Episode Blog Party Post
Football AGAIN -- the show is delayed here on the East Coast. Once it starts, as it airs here on the East Coast, I'll update this post with major happenings. Later tonight (or at least by morning) my show review should be posted over on TV Squad. But the real fun will be during showtime right here in the comments area. Everyone is welcome to join in!
Football is STILL on here as I post this, so we'll be running more than an hour late.
Finally, 9:07 PM ET and we're about to start. This is beyond annoying, CBS.
1. Nat and Kat -- also won $5000 each
2. Brook and Claire
3. Nick and Vicki
4. Gary and Mallory
5. Jill and Thomas
6. Chad and Stephanie must go back and pay cab
7. Michael and Kevin - 2 thirty-minute penalties -- cab leading and taking a cab.
6. Chad and Stephanie - although a 30 minute penalty, they're doing better than Kevin and Michael
7. Michael and Kevin -- eliminated.
Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - November 7, 2010
It's Sunday morning, once again time for my off-television topic look back at the past week in words and photographs I've taken. The early part of the week here was cold, raw and rainy. Of course, it was a cold rain. By the time the sun came out later in the week, I was so ready for it. It's still cold, but it's November. The cold is something to be expected this time of year.
I was part of an act of divine intervention this week. Yes, really. I'm talking Girl Scout cookies. You see, I was waiting for my train home from work when I noticed girl scouts selling cookies on the other platform. I've lost all my Girl Scout cookie connections and thought ... mmm, Thin Mints. But they were on the other side. I wasn't about to walk down the stairs, under the tracks, up the stairs, then vice versa.
I thought for a moment, "Well, no trains are really due right now. It's not a raised platform. I could pass them money through the fence between the tracks and they could toss me a box of Thin Mints over the fence." No, not a good idea. I'm not so much worried about myself. I know the trains -- I would definitely get off the tracks in time. But I wanted them neither hurt, nor in trouble. So I resisted.
I resisted for a good five minutes, then saw my train approaching in the distance. I guess Thin Mints just weren't meant to be. Wait ... what's happening? They see the train and decide to make the run for it, down the stairs, under the tracks, up the stairs, across the open area. One fell, but they kept on coming.
It was fate. It was Divine Intervention. They got to my train just as I was about to board.
"A box of Thin Mints, please!" One of the conductors kept looking at me. "Aren't you going to open them and share them?"
"No." Y'see, I needed milk with them for my retro cookie trip to the past. They still taste just as good as they did 30 or 40 years ago, albeit you get fewer cookies per box and the price is way high.
In other news, yesterday was the big Plainfield Library Photo contest exhibition and awards. I chatted with local bloggers Bernice and Dan, as well as talking Amazing Race for a bit with Rebecca. I enjoy the people the event attracts almost as much as I like checking out what caught the eyes of others in town for the contest. I love Bernice's photo of the statue head from the Chotola building on North Avenue. I'm surprised it didn't win a prize.
It's hard to tell exactly the criteria for awarding the prizes. I was told that my photo "Before the Dawn" was a staff favorite, yet it didn't win anything. It was put on the cover of the program which was way cool, though.
One woman went on and on questioning the process they use to determine the winners. I believe she thought that professional photographers have an edge in the competition. I personally think it has nothing to do with things at all. The professionals (only one entered this year) really don't seem to have a better eye than the amateurs.
The man whose shots keeping winning the top awards is an amateur. I love his work (William Monroe). Perhaps professionals have better equipment, but it's the moment which often makes the shot. Or it's the composition. In 8x10's, fancy equipment which can make photos into murals isn't the key. It's the eye of the photographer, the subject matter and the moment.
That said, this amateur (moi) took second place for "Golden Lamps" and Honorable Mention for "The Walls Come Down." Two ribbons, two cool certificates and one check. I feel so honored to have won something both times I entered the contest. There are a lot of talented folks in town and I believe some of their photos were better than mine. I was also honored that they chose to use my foggy train photo (last year's second place winner) to head up the invitation card for this year's event.
I created a Photobucket album for the show and made this slideshow --
Onto the photos I've taken in my travels this week. Clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window.
More and more trees are but barren branches, yet some others are still sporting green. Peak foliage is over with. However, I still found beauty in Library Park. Plainfield, NJ.
A poster on my NJ Transit train. I assume there are ferries or something from those points. I've never taken a ferry other than the Staten Island Ferry. If I take the bus into the city, it uses the Lincoln Tunnel. The trains have their own tunnel -- would have an additional one in the future, but Gov. Christie shut that down. If I have to swim the Hudson, I'll stay in town, thank you. There are plenty of places to explore and stuff to eat!
Soapy's Laundromat on Park Avenue in Plainfield along with the reflection of the other side of the street.
Hmmm ... no use of CDs? I'm glad I retired my CD Walkman for my not-an-iPod. This is a sign outside a liquor store on Park Avenue in Plainfield. I don't know if it was a liquor store when the sign was put there. A marquee has been put in place obscuring the edge of the sign. I can only assume it was due to bootlegged CDs. I guess.
I wonder how well this restaurant would do if they switched their name around to Yu Sin. With the language errors I see on Chinese restaurant menus, I wouldn't be surprised if it was named Yu Sin. If my Spanish was better, I'd check the menus out to see if they make similar errors in the Spanish text on them. Park Avenue, Plainfield.
I've shot this place before, but never managed to get this angle without cars passing by. Park Avenue in Plainfield.
If you click to make this one larger, you'll see the marquee reads "Home for Adults." I would guess it was originally a hotel, but now it's more like the Greta Garbo Home for Wayward Boys and Girls for adults. No, it's not senior citizen housing. I find the building quite intriguing. West Seventh Street, Plainfield.
But he's probably daydreaming about his favorite movie, Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. West Seventh Street, Plainfield.
Park Avenue, Plainfield.
The Carmen Miranda hat's a bit of a shocker, but whatever floats his boat. The E&A Restaurant Supply store on East Fifth and Cleveland in Plainfield.
I've decided that the ever-changing graffiti wall at the back of the E&A Restaurant Supply and Plainfield YMCA on the other side is an allowed thing. The graffiti in this parking lot shows much more talent than your average tags. One of these days I'm going to hit it as they paint. Right now there is a section all primed. I'll keep checking. I think (could be wrong) that the XMen who do these also did the graphics for the E&A building itself. Maybe they were paid in a wall, I don't know. As seen from East Fifth Street, Plainfield.
When the white eagle of the North is flying overhead
The browns, reds and golds of autumn lie in the gutter, dead.
Remember then, that summer birds with wings of fire flaying
Came to witness spring's new hope, born of leaves decaying.
Just as new life will come from death, love will come at leisure.
Love of love, love of life and giving without measure
Gives in return a wondrous yearn of a promise almost seen.
Live hand-in-hand and together we'll stand on the threshold of a dream.
-- "The Dream" from On the Threshold of a Dream
The Moody Blues
Church Street, Plainfield.
North Avenue, Plainfield. I edited this one for a combination of black and white and color.
North and Watchung Avenues, Plainfield.
Bridgewater, NJ. I don't know why. But there it was.
They can tough it out growing in rocks by the Bridgewater Train Station, but a few more frosts are going to do them in for the winter.
NJ Transit train. This is a full cup of coffee. Not only is it on the floor, but it's also at the edge of the aisle. What happens to full cups of coffee when the train stops? Why, they tip over! Then, due to the train's stop and go motions, as well as swaying, that single cup of coffee can end up front to back covering the entire car! Fool.
By the early morning's light er, night. I like to experiment with taking dark shots without a flash. As seen from Church Street before the dawn.
I've been using this as my Facebook profile photo this week, but figured I'd put it in here for those who don't use FB. Yes, Vincent, you're SO cute.
How was your week?
I was part of an act of divine intervention this week. Yes, really. I'm talking Girl Scout cookies. You see, I was waiting for my train home from work when I noticed girl scouts selling cookies on the other platform. I've lost all my Girl Scout cookie connections and thought ... mmm, Thin Mints. But they were on the other side. I wasn't about to walk down the stairs, under the tracks, up the stairs, then vice versa.
I thought for a moment, "Well, no trains are really due right now. It's not a raised platform. I could pass them money through the fence between the tracks and they could toss me a box of Thin Mints over the fence." No, not a good idea. I'm not so much worried about myself. I know the trains -- I would definitely get off the tracks in time. But I wanted them neither hurt, nor in trouble. So I resisted.
I resisted for a good five minutes, then saw my train approaching in the distance. I guess Thin Mints just weren't meant to be. Wait ... what's happening? They see the train and decide to make the run for it, down the stairs, under the tracks, up the stairs, across the open area. One fell, but they kept on coming.
It was fate. It was Divine Intervention. They got to my train just as I was about to board.
"A box of Thin Mints, please!" One of the conductors kept looking at me. "Aren't you going to open them and share them?"
"No." Y'see, I needed milk with them for my retro cookie trip to the past. They still taste just as good as they did 30 or 40 years ago, albeit you get fewer cookies per box and the price is way high.
In other news, yesterday was the big Plainfield Library Photo contest exhibition and awards. I chatted with local bloggers Bernice and Dan, as well as talking Amazing Race for a bit with Rebecca. I enjoy the people the event attracts almost as much as I like checking out what caught the eyes of others in town for the contest. I love Bernice's photo of the statue head from the Chotola building on North Avenue. I'm surprised it didn't win a prize.
It's hard to tell exactly the criteria for awarding the prizes. I was told that my photo "Before the Dawn" was a staff favorite, yet it didn't win anything. It was put on the cover of the program which was way cool, though.
One woman went on and on questioning the process they use to determine the winners. I believe she thought that professional photographers have an edge in the competition. I personally think it has nothing to do with things at all. The professionals (only one entered this year) really don't seem to have a better eye than the amateurs.
The man whose shots keeping winning the top awards is an amateur. I love his work (William Monroe). Perhaps professionals have better equipment, but it's the moment which often makes the shot. Or it's the composition. In 8x10's, fancy equipment which can make photos into murals isn't the key. It's the eye of the photographer, the subject matter and the moment.
That said, this amateur (moi) took second place for "Golden Lamps" and Honorable Mention for "The Walls Come Down." Two ribbons, two cool certificates and one check. I feel so honored to have won something both times I entered the contest. There are a lot of talented folks in town and I believe some of their photos were better than mine. I was also honored that they chose to use my foggy train photo (last year's second place winner) to head up the invitation card for this year's event.
I created a Photobucket album for the show and made this slideshow --
Onto the photos I've taken in my travels this week. Clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window.
Looking Up
More and more trees are but barren branches, yet some others are still sporting green. Peak foliage is over with. However, I still found beauty in Library Park. Plainfield, NJ.
Okay ... we swim across the Hudson?
Gotcha!
Gotcha!
A poster on my NJ Transit train. I assume there are ferries or something from those points. I've never taken a ferry other than the Staten Island Ferry. If I take the bus into the city, it uses the Lincoln Tunnel. The trains have their own tunnel -- would have an additional one in the future, but Gov. Christie shut that down. If I have to swim the Hudson, I'll stay in town, thank you. There are plenty of places to explore and stuff to eat!
Soapy's Neon
Soapy's Laundromat on Park Avenue in Plainfield along with the reflection of the other side of the street.
No, no, no!
Hmmm ... no use of CDs? I'm glad I retired my CD Walkman for my not-an-iPod. This is a sign outside a liquor store on Park Avenue in Plainfield. I don't know if it was a liquor store when the sign was put there. A marquee has been put in place obscuring the edge of the sign. I can only assume it was due to bootlegged CDs. I guess.
Sin Yu
I wonder how well this restaurant would do if they switched their name around to Yu Sin. With the language errors I see on Chinese restaurant menus, I wouldn't be surprised if it was named Yu Sin. If my Spanish was better, I'd check the menus out to see if they make similar errors in the Spanish text on them. Park Avenue, Plainfield.
Red Tower
I've shot this place before, but never managed to get this angle without cars passing by. Park Avenue in Plainfield.
Home for Adults
If you click to make this one larger, you'll see the marquee reads "Home for Adults." I would guess it was originally a hotel, but now it's more like the Greta Garbo Home for Wayward Boys and Girls for adults. No, it's not senior citizen housing. I find the building quite intriguing. West Seventh Street, Plainfield.
Sure, he looks cute
But he's probably daydreaming about his favorite movie, Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. West Seventh Street, Plainfield.
Fall flowers
Park Avenue, Plainfield.
Wienie King
The Carmen Miranda hat's a bit of a shocker, but whatever floats his boat. The E&A Restaurant Supply store on East Fifth and Cleveland in Plainfield.
The Graffiti Wall's latest
I've decided that the ever-changing graffiti wall at the back of the E&A Restaurant Supply and Plainfield YMCA on the other side is an allowed thing. The graffiti in this parking lot shows much more talent than your average tags. One of these days I'm going to hit it as they paint. Right now there is a section all primed. I'll keep checking. I think (could be wrong) that the XMen who do these also did the graphics for the E&A building itself. Maybe they were paid in a wall, I don't know. As seen from East Fifth Street, Plainfield.
A puddle, leaves and reflections
When the white eagle of the North is flying overhead
The browns, reds and golds of autumn lie in the gutter, dead.
Remember then, that summer birds with wings of fire flaying
Came to witness spring's new hope, born of leaves decaying.
Just as new life will come from death, love will come at leisure.
Love of love, love of life and giving without measure
Gives in return a wondrous yearn of a promise almost seen.
Live hand-in-hand and together we'll stand on the threshold of a dream.
-- "The Dream" from On the Threshold of a Dream
The Moody Blues
Church Street, Plainfield.
Rain's neon glow
North Avenue, Plainfield. I edited this one for a combination of black and white and color.
More rain, more reflections
North and Watchung Avenues, Plainfield.
Abandoned Corn
Bridgewater, NJ. I don't know why. But there it was.
Last gasp of the wildflowers
They can tough it out growing in rocks by the Bridgewater Train Station, but a few more frosts are going to do them in for the winter.
Conspiring, I'm sure
Fool, get the coffee OFF the floor!
NJ Transit train. This is a full cup of coffee. Not only is it on the floor, but it's also at the edge of the aisle. What happens to full cups of coffee when the train stops? Why, they tip over! Then, due to the train's stop and go motions, as well as swaying, that single cup of coffee can end up front to back covering the entire car! Fool.
The Plainfield YWCA
By the early morning's light er, night. I like to experiment with taking dark shots without a flash. As seen from Church Street before the dawn.
I'm just SO cute, aren't I?
I've been using this as my Facebook profile photo this week, but figured I'd put it in here for those who don't use FB. Yes, Vincent, you're SO cute.
How was your week?
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Survivor: Nicaragua - November 3rd Episode Blog Party Post
Survivors Ready?
Welcome one, welcome all! The blog party is ready to start! Everyone is welcome to join in with comments as the show airs here on the East Coast or even later in West Coast time. As the show airs, I'll post major events here, but the real fun and most of the reactions are in the comments section. See you there! Hopefully they'll nail Na'onka for the stealing as seen in the promos!
Merge on? La Flor got directions to their new camp. Moving to Espada.
Two will win immunity -- a man and a woman. Jane won for the women and is hanging in against the last three men in the challenge -- Marty, Chase and Fabio. Marty's out. Chase is out. Fabio wins for the men!
Alina was voted out and is the first member of the jury. Jane wanted Marty out as do most of the commenters here. Marty is my pool person.
That doesn't mean I like him.
Merge on? La Flor got directions to their new camp. Moving to Espada.
Two will win immunity -- a man and a woman. Jane won for the women and is hanging in against the last three men in the challenge -- Marty, Chase and Fabio. Marty's out. Chase is out. Fabio wins for the men!
Alina was voted out and is the first member of the jury. Jane wanted Marty out as do most of the commenters here. Marty is my pool person.
That doesn't mean I like him.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
The Amazing Race - Oct. 31 Episode Blog Party Post
Football AGAIN -- the show is delayed here on the East Coast by about a half-hour. Once it starts, as it airs here on the East Coast, I'll update this post with major happenings. Later tonight (or at least by morning) my show review should be posted over on TV Squad. But the real fun will be during showtime right here in the comments area. Everyone is welcome to join in!
8:24 PM and it's finally starting here. Other areas started on time (see comments).
1. Jill and Thomas - trip to Brazil
2. Brook and Claire
3. Michael and Kevin
4. Nat and Kat
5. Chad and Stephanie
6. Gary and Mallory
7. Nick and Vicki -- non-Philimination leg!
Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - October 31, 2010
It's Sunday morning, time for my weekly off-television topic reflection on the week gone by in words and photographs I've taken in my daily travels. It's Halloween. BOO! (Scared you, didn't I?) And, if you're reading this, Happy Birthday Russ!
Where I spent the majority of my pre-adult life, the leaves were already gone come Halloween. Here, they're peaking. Some trees are still green while others have barren branches ... and yet others are brilliant yellows and reds. Autumn is my favorite time of year as the weather is usually pleasant, not too hot nor too cold, and the foliage can be breathtaking.
Daylight Savings Time is coming late this year. I expected it last weekend or perhaps this one. Nope! It's not until next week. Who decides these things? Is there a way they could strive for consistency from year to year? What's up with that? I want my extra hour of sleep!
Our weird weather continues. In the early part of the week it was warm and even a bit muggy. Then we went down to freezing Saturday morning. I'm actually a fan of brisk weather -- I like temperatures in the low 50s in the morning, perhaps to 70 in the afternoon. I guess we won't see many days like that for a while.
Things are pretty much same old-same old around here. So, it's onto the photos from the week. Clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window.
There were mice on my NJ Transit train last night, as well as Grim Reapers, vampires, (fake) ladies of the evening, clowns, you name it. These two girls are two of the Three Blind Mice. The other one was in the seat facing them as they were in a four-seater. Accompanying them was Wendy from Wendy's (don't ask me, I don't get the connection), but he wasn't wearing his wig.
All were heading into the city (NYC) for parties. With Halloween on a Sunday evening, lots of parties were held Saturday. The big Greenwich Village parade is tonight and the train will be costumed once again. I won't be on it. I'll be home, yes!
A store window on East Front Street in Plainfield. Note the police car in the reflection. It was weird. I would stop, sometimes sit on a bench, take some shots and he'd park. I'd move along, he'd creep along. Then if I stopped again, he'd stop and park until I moved again. I don't think I look suspicious. Maybe they're just not used to people walking along taking photos downtown.
This building is really cool. I wonder what it housed in its early days. East Front Street, Plainfield.
Got to love the mix of Spanish and English in neon. Envios is shipping and tarjetas are cards. Don't ask me what's included in etc. But I want one! The corner of East Front Street and Park Avenue, Plainfield. Edited to leave the neon in color.
No, it's not 11:36 (and a half). This is more like the clock in the old Mamas and Papas song "Twelve-Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)" -
I guess I'm just a sucker for reflections in windows. Here, the businesses across the street are reflected in the Park Madison Office Building. Park Avenue in Plainfield. When I first moved here there was no building there. It was an odd park with benches all around the edges and perhaps two sidewalks to the middle ... lots of grass and signs to stay off the grass.
The chess tables sit empty as the temperatures drop and the winds pick up. Park Avenue and East Front Street, Plainfield. And what time is it?
The old PNC bank pillars, the Park Madison Office Building and colorful leaves. Park Avenue, Plainfield.
This building has been vacant for more than a few years. Its windows are so cool! These are actually the second and third floors. Supposedly there are all kinds of plans for this and the PNC bank ... including some apartments. Seeing how slow some things are done (cough:::The Monarch:::cough) around here, I better not count on 'em. Park Avenue, Plainfield.
Okay, he had it as sitting. I took creative liberties! Plainfield Train Station
The weeds came to life in the warm weather, then the cold made them refuse to come to full bloom.
Plainfield Train Station Tuesday just around sunset.
Bridgewater Promenade Shopping Center, Bridgewater, NJ.
The boys of summer are gone from the TD Ballpark in Bridgewater (by the train station).
Ready to face another day. Plainfield Train Station.
Hey, this is outside MY window! (Hence the camera focusing on the screen as it was still in the "heat wave.") There was some kind of parking kerfuffle but nothing which warranted police. But then the riff raff neighbor whose tires were slashed the night before was screaming that the cops need to lock up so-and-so who slashed her tires. I just want the riff raff neighbor to move. No one else in the building has people honking horns and screaming up at their windows at all hours.
One morning the fog was outright ridiculous. The dark line in this photo is a pole right near me. You can barely see the sun. Some of you will recognize the sign -- it's the one ripped apart by a storm earlier this year. But what you can't see is all the parked cars in the Bridgewater Train Station parking lot!
This was before I hit the bad fog. Plainfield Train Station.
At the Plainfield Train Station
Yep, it's all lighted up. As an ex-neighbor in my building referred to our parking lot lights ... those are RUDE lights.
His overbite shows.
How was your week?
Don't forget to stop back for the blog party during The Amazing Race!
Where I spent the majority of my pre-adult life, the leaves were already gone come Halloween. Here, they're peaking. Some trees are still green while others have barren branches ... and yet others are brilliant yellows and reds. Autumn is my favorite time of year as the weather is usually pleasant, not too hot nor too cold, and the foliage can be breathtaking.
Daylight Savings Time is coming late this year. I expected it last weekend or perhaps this one. Nope! It's not until next week. Who decides these things? Is there a way they could strive for consistency from year to year? What's up with that? I want my extra hour of sleep!
Our weird weather continues. In the early part of the week it was warm and even a bit muggy. Then we went down to freezing Saturday morning. I'm actually a fan of brisk weather -- I like temperatures in the low 50s in the morning, perhaps to 70 in the afternoon. I guess we won't see many days like that for a while.
Things are pretty much same old-same old around here. So, it's onto the photos from the week. Clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window.
Vincent, look! Mice!
There were mice on my NJ Transit train last night, as well as Grim Reapers, vampires, (fake) ladies of the evening, clowns, you name it. These two girls are two of the Three Blind Mice. The other one was in the seat facing them as they were in a four-seater. Accompanying them was Wendy from Wendy's (don't ask me, I don't get the connection), but he wasn't wearing his wig.
All were heading into the city (NYC) for parties. With Halloween on a Sunday evening, lots of parties were held Saturday. The big Greenwich Village parade is tonight and the train will be costumed once again. I won't be on it. I'll be home, yes!
BOO!
A store window on East Front Street in Plainfield. Note the police car in the reflection. It was weird. I would stop, sometimes sit on a bench, take some shots and he'd park. I'd move along, he'd creep along. Then if I stopped again, he'd stop and park until I moved again. I don't think I look suspicious. Maybe they're just not used to people walking along taking photos downtown.
The Value Man
This building is really cool. I wonder what it housed in its early days. East Front Street, Plainfield.
I'd like some ETC, please
Got to love the mix of Spanish and English in neon. Envios is shipping and tarjetas are cards. Don't ask me what's included in etc. But I want one! The corner of East Front Street and Park Avenue, Plainfield. Edited to leave the neon in color.
Does anybody really know what time it is?
Does anybody really care?
Does anybody really care?
- Chicago - "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?"
No, it's not 11:36 (and a half). This is more like the clock in the old Mamas and Papas song "Twelve-Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)" -
I used to live in New York City;
Everything there was dark and dirty.
Outside my window was a steeple
With a clock that always said twelve-thirty.
Everything there was dark and dirty.
Outside my window was a steeple
With a clock that always said twelve-thirty.
But this is Plainfield. We march to our own beat, keep our own time. And that time is always 11:36 (and a half). Park Avenue, but there no longer is a Park Jewelers there.
Reflections Part Deux
I guess I'm just a sucker for reflections in windows. Here, the businesses across the street are reflected in the Park Madison Office Building. Park Avenue in Plainfield. When I first moved here there was no building there. It was an odd park with benches all around the edges and perhaps two sidewalks to the middle ... lots of grass and signs to stay off the grass.
Too windy for chess
The chess tables sit empty as the temperatures drop and the winds pick up. Park Avenue and East Front Street, Plainfield. And what time is it?
Old, new and a change of seasons
The old PNC bank pillars, the Park Madison Office Building and colorful leaves. Park Avenue, Plainfield.
I'd like to make an apartment in there
This building has been vacant for more than a few years. Its windows are so cool! These are actually the second and third floors. Supposedly there are all kinds of plans for this and the PNC bank ... including some apartments. Seeing how slow some things are done (cough:::The Monarch:::cough) around here, I better not count on 'em. Park Avenue, Plainfield.
Standing in the railway station
Got a ticket for my destination
-- "Homeward Bound" by Simon and Garfunkel
Got a ticket for my destination
-- "Homeward Bound" by Simon and Garfunkel
Okay, he had it as sitting. I took creative liberties! Plainfield Train Station
C-c-c-an't bloom!
The weeds came to life in the warm weather, then the cold made them refuse to come to full bloom.
Storm clouds move in
Plainfield Train Station Tuesday just around sunset.
Pretty colors
Bridgewater Promenade Shopping Center, Bridgewater, NJ.
Sunrise by the ball park
The boys of summer are gone from the TD Ballpark in Bridgewater (by the train station).
Jus' chillaxin'
Ready to face another day. Plainfield Train Station.
Police activity!
Hey, this is outside MY window! (Hence the camera focusing on the screen as it was still in the "heat wave.") There was some kind of parking kerfuffle but nothing which warranted police. But then the riff raff neighbor whose tires were slashed the night before was screaming that the cops need to lock up so-and-so who slashed her tires. I just want the riff raff neighbor to move. No one else in the building has people honking horns and screaming up at their windows at all hours.
We're talking pea soup
One morning the fog was outright ridiculous. The dark line in this photo is a pole right near me. You can barely see the sun. Some of you will recognize the sign -- it's the one ripped apart by a storm earlier this year. But what you can't see is all the parked cars in the Bridgewater Train Station parking lot!
It wasn't as foggy when I left Plainfield that morning
This was before I hit the bad fog. Plainfield Train Station.
The train! The train!
Autumn Leaves
At the Plainfield Train Station
Watchung Avenue in the pre-dawn
Yep, it's all lighted up. As an ex-neighbor in my building referred to our parking lot lights ... those are RUDE lights.
Are you comfortable, Vincent?
His overbite shows.
How was your week?
Don't forget to stop back for the blog party during The Amazing Race!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Survivor: Nicaragua - October 27th Episode Blog Party Post
Survivors Ready?
Welcome one, welcome all! The blog party is ready to start! Everyone is welcome to join in with comments as the show airs here on the East Coast or even later in West Coast time. As the show airs, I'll post major events here, but the real fun and most of the reactions are in the comments section. See you there!
Espada won reward -- horseback rides, breakfast at a farm.
Apparently they won immunity too, not that I could tell thanks to Comcast or WCBS2 losing its signal for ten minutes. Grr.
Jill was voted out. Hmmm...
Espada won reward -- horseback rides, breakfast at a farm.
Apparently they won immunity too, not that I could tell thanks to Comcast or WCBS2 losing its signal for ten minutes. Grr.
Jill was voted out. Hmmm...
Sunday, October 24, 2010
The Amazing Race - Oct. 24 Episode Blog Party Post
Football AGAIN -- the show is delayed here on the East Coast by about about fifteen - seventeen minutes. Once it starts, as it airs here on the East Coast, I'll update this post with major happenings. Later tonight (or at least by morning) my show review should be posted over on TV Squad. But the real fun will be during showtime right here in the comments area. Everyone is welcome to join in!
Nat and Kat completed the fast forward task.
Nat and Kat first to pit stop -- won a trip to Costa Rica.
2. Gary and Mallory
3. Jill and Thomas
4. Michael and Kevin
5. Brook and Claire
6. Nick and Vicki
7. Chad and Stephanie
8. Katie and Rachel - Philiminated
Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - October 24, 2010
It's Sunday morning, time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in words and photos I've taken in my travels. For some reason, I took a lot of photos this week, not all of them necessarily artistic. But that's how things go sometimes. It helped that most of my walking and commuting times were rain-free, although it rained at night during the week.
I have an addition to my train passengers gripes from a few weeks back --
I really don't have much else to say. The photo exhibition for the Plainfield Library Photo Contest will take place in two weeks. I'm hoping for a decent showing and another ribbon (and check!) this time, but there's a lot of talent in town. Until then, you get what I got for the week -- clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window.
I know I tend to take a shot from this vantage point quite often, but things change. This time it was the just-after-sunrise sun's rays on the clouds which caught my eye. Plainfield Train Station.
Aaaooooo! The real full moon was the night before. But this is full enough for howling! Bridgewater, NJ.
I don't think they meant lion statues. Note the straw gazelle in the background stalking the lions. East Front Street, Plainfield.
They're up to something!
Berckman Street, Plainfield. Edited to leave the big stuffed pink thing in color, the rest black and white.
Sure enough, it rained all night. I hope those sailors took warning. Bridgewater, NJ.
Looking at the sun's final hurrah over the Plainfield Train Station while standing on East Fourth Street.
I love that each store employs an in-house artist to do all their signs. If it were just lettering, it's something I'd love to do. Alas, they want a lot of drawing with the signs. I'm not as good at that. I'm a letterer kind of person. Years back I used to make signs for various businesses, but computers have taken over a lot of that.
Trees are reflected in a bakery's window in Westfield, NJ. Again edited for the color/black and white look.
It needed to be shot.
Westfield, NJ at the now-closed Leaders Store.
Yikes, I would have thought that they'd take better care of their real estate. You can see through the roof in the old Leaders Store. While they do seem to be doing something with the building, the upper floors and roof are letting in rain, birds, you name it. That can't be good for the structure. For those not familiar with the area, Westfield is the more posh town in the area.
It's also where John List murdered his family in 1971 but we won't go there.
EEK! Westfield, NJ.
I love this diner's building even though an SUV is blocking a lot of it. But I wasn't too thrilled the one time I ate there. It was full of high school kids and you couldn't even hold a normal conversation. Plus, the employees were as bad as the kid customers, all hanging out at a table. The food was only so-so, not good but not bad. It was the ambiance or lack thereof which did them in with me. Westfield, NJ.
Westfield, NJ. As a matter of fact, this is the colorful tree reflected in the window in one of the shots above.
Gotta love Five Guys Burgers and Fries ... and peanuts! But you can't do it too often. We're talking calories here. Westfield, NJ.
I keep trying to get decent moon shots without fancy equipment. It's hard to get detail. This was Thursday evening in Plainfield.
Taken shortly before the other moon shot. Watchung Avenue, Plainfield.
Open your eyes, Vincent. You're a nut!
Don't forget to stop back tonight for the Amazing Race blog party! Hopefully the show will start somewhere near on time. How was your week?
I have an addition to my train passengers gripes from a few weeks back --
- For the sake of all that is good in this universe, invest in a box of Kleenex. Sheesh, I realize I had my super cold, but I don't constantly sniffle in public. Blow those noses and stop the sickly noises!
I really don't have much else to say. The photo exhibition for the Plainfield Library Photo Contest will take place in two weeks. I'm hoping for a decent showing and another ribbon (and check!) this time, but there's a lot of talent in town. Until then, you get what I got for the week -- clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window.
Clouds in the early morning
I know I tend to take a shot from this vantage point quite often, but things change. This time it was the just-after-sunrise sun's rays on the clouds which caught my eye. Plainfield Train Station.
Last night
Aaaooooo! The real full moon was the night before. But this is full enough for howling! Bridgewater, NJ.
Our house is a very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard
-- "Our House" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
With two cats in the yard
-- "Our House" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
I don't think they meant lion statues. Note the straw gazelle in the background stalking the lions. East Front Street, Plainfield.
Watching, they're always watching
They're up to something!
You're not the only cuddly toy
That was ever enjoyed by any boy
You're not the only choo-choo train
(Or big stuffed pink thing)
That was left out in the rain
The day after Santa came ...
-- "Cuddly Toy" popularized by The Monkees
- written by Harry Nilsson
That was ever enjoyed by any boy
You're not the only choo-choo train
(Or big stuffed pink thing)
That was left out in the rain
The day after Santa came ...
-- "Cuddly Toy" popularized by The Monkees
- written by Harry Nilsson
Berckman Street, Plainfield. Edited to leave the big stuffed pink thing in color, the rest black and white.
Late season weeds
Red sky in the morning again
Sure enough, it rained all night. I hope those sailors took warning. Bridgewater, NJ.
That same morning in Plainfield just a bit earlier.
The sun also sets
Looking at the sun's final hurrah over the Plainfield Train Station while standing on East Fourth Street.
Plotting in the sun
Yay, Trader Joe's!
I love that each store employs an in-house artist to do all their signs. If it were just lettering, it's something I'd love to do. Alas, they want a lot of drawing with the signs. I'm not as good at that. I'm a letterer kind of person. Years back I used to make signs for various businesses, but computers have taken over a lot of that.
Reflections
Trees are reflected in a bakery's window in Westfield, NJ. Again edited for the color/black and white look.
Yes, it's a flower.
It needed to be shot.
Okay, if you unravel the canopy,
We can attack the humans.
We can attack the humans.
Westfield, NJ at the now-closed Leaders Store.
Westfield?
Yikes, I would have thought that they'd take better care of their real estate. You can see through the roof in the old Leaders Store. While they do seem to be doing something with the building, the upper floors and roof are letting in rain, birds, you name it. That can't be good for the structure. For those not familiar with the area, Westfield is the more posh town in the area.
It's also where John List murdered his family in 1971 but we won't go there.
He hit on me!
EEK! Westfield, NJ.
Vicki's Diner
I love this diner's building even though an SUV is blocking a lot of it. But I wasn't too thrilled the one time I ate there. It was full of high school kids and you couldn't even hold a normal conversation. Plus, the employees were as bad as the kid customers, all hanging out at a table. The food was only so-so, not good but not bad. It was the ambiance or lack thereof which did them in with me. Westfield, NJ.
Autumn's Glory
Westfield, NJ. As a matter of fact, this is the colorful tree reflected in the window in one of the shots above.
But no candy
Gotta love Five Guys Burgers and Fries ... and peanuts! But you can't do it too often. We're talking calories here. Westfield, NJ.
Full moon
I keep trying to get decent moon shots without fancy equipment. It's hard to get detail. This was Thursday evening in Plainfield.
Full moon over the Plainfield Municipal Court.
Taken shortly before the other moon shot. Watchung Avenue, Plainfield.
I can't see!
I can't SEE!
I CAN'T SEE!
I can't SEE!
I CAN'T SEE!
Open your eyes, Vincent. You're a nut!
Don't forget to stop back tonight for the Amazing Race blog party! Hopefully the show will start somewhere near on time. How was your week?
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