Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - December 18, 2016

Good morning! Since it's Sunday morning, it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection of the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. This past week we saw the finale of Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen-X along with just shy of 400 comments on my live blog post. Near a record amount of comments on one of my single blog posts, but not quite. Now I'm a bit in between seasons of shows. I need a rest anyway -- going from coverage of BB right into BBOTT/Survivor made me even more exhausted than my usual exhausted state!

This past week, I went into Manhattan Monday evening after work to meet up with an online friend of over twenty years. Due to some health issues with my back, I didn't make the rounds of the holiday doings in town. I've seen them all before, many times. And, while Christmas in NYC is amazing, when you've seen it many years, it tends to look and photograph the same year to year. It's different if you're there with friends. But I just didn't have the desire or strength to deal with the mobs and do more walking than needed. Next Sunday, on Christmas Day, I'll be posting some of the photos of the city I've taken in previous years. I did take photos on Monday, but they're more along the lines of basic Manhattan kind of photos, not holiday.

I didn't get a heck of a lot of shots in Plainfield this week, either! The bitter cold a few days (1) killed the battery in my camera and/or (2) made my lens fog. Then, yesterday, I actually forgot my camera! I felt naked without it! Plus, I missed snow and ice-lined trees shots! Oh, well. I'm sure to have plenty of that ahead in the next few months.

We had a couple of inches of snow, then ice (maybe a quarter inch of ice) yesterday. Today we're getting rain and the temperature might go up near 60 degrees. Um. Okay. That will make this snowy slushy mess melt. But then tomorrow, we're back to seasonal temps. So, that means icy sidewalks. It's not even really winter yet but I want spring.

Anyway ... onto the photos from the week. Clicking on an image will open it in a larger version.

Little Miss Ripped Jeans and Red

At the subway entrance corner of 8th Avenue and West 33rd Street.

Winter freakin' wonderland

I took this shot out my kitchen window Saturday morning. At that point, a fine snow was coming down starting to mix with freezing rain and sleet. Then I accidentally left my camera in the kitchen and left for work without it.

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Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - April 10, 2016

Good morning! Since it's Sunday morning, it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. If you're a fan of either Survivor or The Amazing Race (or both), please stop by on show nights as they air East Coast time for live blogging and blog parties in the comments area. It makes the show even more fun to watch when you watch it with friends!

Our weather here this past week has been more like winter than spring. I'm so tired of putting away my winter jacket thinking it's all over only to get it out once again ... or shiver in my fleece. Although we've had the threat of snow more than a few times this week, I only saw some flurries once. Nonetheless, I'm tired of it. We need spring!

My downstairs neighbor passed away in either a hospital or a hospice (not here in the building) a few weeks ago. I didn't realize it until some men were emptying out his apartment and bringing most of his stuff to the dumpsters and stacking furniture around the dumpsters. Most of his stuff was either fiberboard type furniture or incredibly worn stuff that might have been nice 30 years ago. The men cleaning out the apartment took the nicer pieces and I noticed some things seemed to disappear to scavengers overnight. It's very sad that that represented a man's life. He was my downstairs neighbor for about twelve years, my source for building gossip and he'd often offer me a ride home if he saw me downtown on foot. He didn't make a lot of noise and, if he did, I always felt free to go down and say something to him. But, I never had to do so. Rest in peace, Lee.

Meanwhile, my upstairs neighbor of about a year and a half is growing more annoying. He's extremely quiet on weekdays. But, on weekends he turns into some sort of party animal with a horribly loud thumping bass stereo. I've lived in this apartment for 16 years. There's been about six different tenants upstairs from me during that time. With all of them, I could only hear conversation if they were shouting at each other. I rarely heard more that a hint of music from upstairs.

None of them had carpet -- he does. I hear him shouting in "normal conversation" over the "music." I can't really call it music as all I hear is the bass thumping. I know some other people, perhaps his neighbors on either side, have called the police on him. I've been tempted to do so. The noise hasn't started up yet as I get this posted. But the landlord will get a call tomorrow if it does. I have to work on Saturdays and don't get home until around 8pm. I don't want to hear, nor should I hear, a constant thump of bass which sounds like a mallet pounding on my ceiling. Nor should my one day off on Sunday be noise from early in the morning until midnight. Grr.

I finally figured out how to use the now free Google NIK photo editor I downloaded a few weeks ago. I couldn't see where it went in my computer! All I could read online had it used as plug-ins for Photoshop or other expensive photo editing software programs I don't own. I discovered I can open photos with the various six programs of NIK. But then I couldn't tell the system where to save them and found they were being saved under documents. Now I have it all under control. I think.

Work has been totally exhausting. But, what else is new?

Onto this week's photos! Clicking on an image will bring up a larger version.

My ride home from work

It's too bad it doesn't take me right to my door! But I do prefer to hear train whistles from blocks away rather than right outside my window. I edited this shot of my train arriving at the Bridgewater Train Station. It's nice to leave when there's some daylight. Now it it could just warm up a bit!

Welcome, Love, Justice, Peace

Banners were flying yesterday at the Friends (Quakers) Meeting House on Watchung Avenue in Plainfield. By the time I noticed them to take photographs, I was up on the westbound platform of the Plainfield Train Station. So, Justice is a bit obscured ... as it sometimes can be in real life.

It's a cold, cold rain

No, we didn't get the snow they predicted. But, man, that rain was COLD. This is a shot of my arrival home from work last night at the Plainfield Train Station.

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Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - November 15, 2015

Good morning! Yes, I slept in once again. But it felt so darn good! Anyway, since it is Sunday morning (albeit a bit late), it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. Keep in mind, if you want television posts, I guarantee that I will have posts for both Survivor and Amazing Race as they air in the upcoming week!

My past week wasn't exactly a thrill a minute. I worked. I slept. I ate. I paid attention to Vincent, the cat. There was a big SNAFU with my Peapod grocery delivery this week, the likes of which I've never seen before. Nor do I ever want to see again! Only about a fifth of my order was delivered and I had to have a second evening delivery the next day. That delivery arrived late and things which were in stock for my real delivery were suddenly out of stock for the re-delivery. Grr.

The Plainfield Public Library Photo Competition exhibit and awards ceremony was held yesterday. I really didn't think I'd win anything this year when I submitted my photos. It wasn't a great theme for me. The theme was about Plainfield working, taking care of business, et al. I think the best photos of that sort of thing that I've taken, I've already submitted in past years.

That said, I was surprised to win third place. Yay!

So, now I have another paper check in hand. Oh gee ... I'll have to go to either Trader Joe's in Westfield or Park Beverages (for my favorite microbrew beer) in Scotch Plains as Plainfield itself has no branch of my bank. I love having an excuse to go to either of those places!

In weather, we had rain for the entire beginning of the week. Then it turned chilly with wind. I bought a new winter jacket last week, so I'm warm and comfy. I also wanted just a knit hat, beanie-type, to go under the hood of the jacket. My gosh ... look in women's at places and they all go nearly $20. I bought one for $3.99 in the mens department of Target. I'm not looking for fashion -- I just want warmth under the hood of the jacket. Sheesh.

Without further ado, it's onto the photos for the week. Click on an image and it will open in a larger form ...

Autumn's beauty

Once overnight freezes are commonplace, these flowers will be gone.

Crane at work

At least I had some entertainment this week as I waited for the train to work. One day the men would be cutting holes in the sides of the old (removed) railroad bridge for the crane to hook into. The next day they'd be cutting the bridge into sections so the sections could be loaded on flatbeds by the crane. Hey, I didn't say it was great entertainment! This coming weekend they're taking down the bridge on the other side of the Plainfield Train Station -- the Park Avenue Bridge. Then the process will be repeated once again.

I see dead people

The saga continues. Raritan Valley Line on NJ Transit. 

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Misery on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre - A Review

The Broadhurst Theatre

Yes, I know that this blog is about television shows with a weekly photo post thrown in. But, as they say, "The Show Must Go On." I believe that saying has its origins in the theater. Today I'm reviewing Misery on Broadway with Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf in the lead roles as I attended the play on Saturday, November 7.

Spoilers be ahead -- you've been warned!

There are several reasons I was compelled to go see this when I really don't go to hardly any Broadway shows:

• I'm Stephen King's true Number 1 fan. Er, well. Okay. I'm just a huge fan of his work. I'm not a stalker. Really. I'm not.
• I like both Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf. I've enjoyed Bruce since his Moonlighting days and Laurie since she played Rosanne's sister, Jackie, on Rosanne.
• I found the book Misery to be one of my favorites -- I prefer The Stand, but that's a whole 'nuther story.
• The movie Misery was mesmerizing. I have it on DVD and now feel the need to re-watch it.

So, I decided I must go see Misery the Musical. Oh, wait. It ain't that. It's Misery on Broadway!

Another thing it isn't is Misery, the Hollywood movie. Nor is it Misery, the Stephen King novel.

I'm not saying that's such a bad thing. However, the play takes a much different approach than either the book or movie. It was a bit unsettling at first to be amused and giggling during the show. But then it seemed like a great adaptation to me -- making the show a dark comedy with moments of terror thrown in.

Before getting into the meat of this review, I should mention the stage set. It was a revolving affair. There were three sets altogether -- a wintry outdoor front porch set, a bedroom (where most of the action took place) set and a kitchen with hints of a staircase and another room set. Music, most often suspenseful, played as the scenes almost seamlessly rotated through the show. The lighting job was also superb with car headlights shining in the windows, thunderstorms and such.

The show is still in previews at the present time as they perfect things. With the exception of one incident when the curtain came down and they announced technical difficulties, it seemed quite perfected to me. That only lasted shut down for just a minute or two. But it was just before the hobbling scene and built the suspense for it as the audience knew what was coming! It wasn't an issue with the revolving stage set(s) as it was in the bedroom set. They picked it back up repeating the last few lines and action, going on from there.

Like Kathy Bates, who won both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Annie Wilkes, stole the show from James Caan ... as does Laurie Metcalf steal it from Bruce Willis. Oh, she does it in a much different manner, mind you. She's outright hilarious at times in the role of Annie! I call it a brilliant performance and think she made the show entertaining, often funny and sometimes jump in your seat scary. Kudos to Laurie Metcalf!

Then there's Bruce Willis in the role of Paul Sheldon. Hmm. Well, he looks much different from the Bruce Willis we all know. His shaved bald head is now sporting gray straggly hair around the ears and back of the head and he has a scruffy beard. Of course, the beard fits in with the held captive bit. I've heard some negative things such as he used an earpiece to tell him his lines and he's flubbed lines. I didn't see an earpiece. I do think he may have flubbed a line or two, but recovered decently. The role of Paul Sheldon hasn't the lines to reign supreme like Annie Wilkes. I think he did okay with the role. He was funny at times, screamed well at other times.

A third actor, Leon Addison Brown, played the minor role of the sheriff. He did well, but we didn't see him a heck of a lot. He died quite expertly.

Overall, despite the humor in the show, the terror moments made the audience gasp and squirm. Once, Annie Wilkes smashed a manuscript down on Paul Sheldon's broken legs. I didn't expect that and actually jumped a bit in my seat. I think I felt the pain! The hobbling was done with perfection (after their "technical difficulties" show stop mentioned above). I don't really know how they did it. Yikes! When Annie shot the sheriff (but she didn't kill the deputy), people actually screamed with surprise. And, when Paul fought back against Annie, it was horrifying! Well played, well played.

The performance I saw received a standing ovation. So, I wasn't the only one really enjoying it!

A few notes on the Broadhurst Theatre:

• My seat was in the first row center of the mezzanine. I had a great view and was close enough to see details on stage, facial expressions and such. I hear the latter part of the orchestra section has the top of the stage obscured by the low-hanging mezzanine. Sucks to be them, huh?
• The theatre is NOT accessible as far as I could tell. There is no elevator. Going up to the mezzanine, I had to climb a gazillion steps. Bless handrails. Even the orchestra seating seemed to be at such an incline that trying to get a decent view seated in a wheelchair might be impossible.
• The legroom, or lack thereof, actually beat the Astor Place Theatre where I saw the Blue Man Group. I'm talking about the LACK of legroom. It wins the prize! While the seats themselves were comfy and spacious enough, my knees and feet were actually touching the mezzanine wall while I was sitting upright with good posture. Halfway through the show, I ended up shifting a bit sideways. I've had a DVT already. I don't want another.
• There was no intermission during the (over) 90 minute show, but there was a bar set up both upstairs and downstairs. Since they don't want you to take drinks to your seats, I guess people have to chug their wine. I didn't get a beverage.
• When I picked up my tickets at the box office in the morning for the 2pm matinee, I asked the agent/clerk/whatever when it would be best to return for the show. He said ten minutes before two. Hmm.
• I returned a half-hour before the show to find a line stretching almost to the corner of the block, thus confusing Matilda attendees. 
• While I ended up getting in line near the nearby Shubert Theatre (Matilda is there), it was only due to a fluke because a car wanted to cut through the line to get into the parking garage and there was no room for anyone to really move. It almost broke into fisticuffs between a woman theater-goer and the driver while an NYPD cop watched from the street. Nonetheless, I got stuck and ended up talking to the people around me, then just moved forward with them.
• Because they too were told to arrive ten minutes before the show and the line was so long (all ticket holding folks), the theatre filled up late and the show started late.
• One man in line was telling people we were in line for Obama, the Musical. They believed him. He and I discussed various possibilities for the show.
• The theatre staff was pleasant enough.
• Even considering its late start, the show did run overtime. Maybe that's one thing they need to work on while it's in previews. It's supposed to last 90 minutes. It ended up running about ten to fifteen minutes over that. I didn't really care about that.

A final note:
I'm not a Broadway show reviewer, nor do I even play one on television. I personally would go again to see this show if it were in my budget. Laurie Metcalf rulz!

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - November 8, 2015

I'm SO late with this week's off television topic reflection of the past week in both words and photos I've taken along the way! But, I did way too much walking around (and standing around) yesterday. I overslept and I'm a bit on the lame side today. Okay, I know some people consider me usually lame ... but I mean physically! Sheesh!

I took so many photos yesterday when I went to see 'Misery on Broadway' with Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf that I'll have to post some Plainfield area photos and some of the NYC ones next week, too.

Here's the week in rough --

• Four day work week as I requested Saturday as a vacation day to go see the show. Yay!
• I also have a four day work week next week as I've requested Saturday as a personal day for the Plainfield Public Library Photo Competition. I have my doubts about winning first place again as the theme wasn't a great one for me.
• I left early yesterday to go into Manhattan. I had to pick up my tickets at the box office before the 2pm matinee show. I got to town around 10am, got my ticket, ate a late breakfast and roamed around Times Square until about 1:30.
• I will post a full review of the show and theatre later tonight.
• It's very weird, but three of the people I talked to during the day were from Los Angeles. One was a 20-something woman who put a cling on a pole I was leaning against in Times Square. I looked to see what it read and she said, "I'm taking it down. I just need to get a photo of it with Times Square in the background." I didn't care if she left it there. It turned out that her fiance had designed the cling, was killed in an automobile accident and they had dreamed of coming to Times Square together. Aww. She and I talked for about fifteen minutes. Sad story, very nice young woman.
• The other two were a lesbian couple outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Fun people! We mocked some of the people passing by and counter-intimidated a surly bum who approached us for money. We talked East Coast vs. West Coast and really had a pleasant conversation as we stayed out of the lane of pedestrians by standing up against the building.
• The show ended late (started late, too) and I ended up taking the 6pm bus home. Oh. The 6pm bus was late, too.
• While I had a seat alone heading into the city, I shared a seat with a young man from the Ukraine here to go to college. He was interesting. He's been in the USA for only two months and didn't know any English before he came here. While he has to hesitate at times, his English is much better than many!

Onto the gazillion photos for this week. Clicking on an image will bring it up in a larger window.

West 44th Street

Although it's technically NOT Broadway, this block is the home of many Broadway shows. The expensive Sardi's restaurant is across the street from the Broadhurst Theatre where I saw 'Misery on Broadway' but that was way out of my budget. I ate a late breakfast at the Evergreen Restaurant over on West 47th Street and a not really lunch at Ben and Jerry's which is past the bowling alley in this photo. I ate dinner at home.

SO cool ghost sign!

They're doing construction on West 47th Street and this is now exposed -- a ghost sign for the Hotel Longacre, Rooms $1.00 a day, Rooms with bath $1.50. Lunch is 40 cents, dinner is 65 cents and, I assume, the "Club Breakfast" comes with the room. I wonder how many years back it dates.

Who wants lunch?

A sign I saw in the window of Pete's Fish Market on East Second Street in Plainfield this week.

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Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - December 30, 2012

It's the last Sunday of 2012! Why, that must mean it's time for my last off television topic photo post of the year. Woohoo! Of course, I haven't really been posting about television lately as everything is in repeats for the holidays. I did watch the Kennedy Center honors show this week and enjoyed it immensely. The ballet dancer seemed a bit out of her element, but I found the rest of the folks being honored people who have indeed played roles in my own life to a certain extent -- Dustin Hoffman, David Letterman, Buddy Guy and Led Zeppelin. I'm just not a big ballet fan albeit I find it beautiful when I do watch.

Last week I had a dearth of photos. This week, probably too many. You just might want to grab a big mug of coffee and some snacks before getting too involved in this. Not only did I find some things of interest in a bit better weather week locally to photograph, but I went into Manhattan on a whim on Christmas Day. 

Since I actually (for a change) had two days off -- Christmas and the day after -- with no real plans other than a quiet holiday at home with Vincent the Cat ... I decided to hop a bus into town. That means I walk about one minute to the bus stop and soon I'm dumped in Midtown. A storm was due Wednesday, but Christmas day was nice. Overcast, but I prefer that for taking photos anyway.

So, after I talked to my brother in California on the phone for a while, I was on my way. I thought it might be a bit quieter with all the big stores closed. Um. No. All the people just mobbed the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center instead of shopping! Oy. I will say that it wasn't as bad with the crowding as was the Chinese New Year parade in the city last year. I was concerned I might have a rib broken in the crowd crush for that.

I walked from the Port Authority Bus Terminal, through Times Square, over to Fifth Avenue, up to Rockefeller Center, back over by Saint Patrick's Cathedral (which had huge crowds, but scaffolding all about as they rehab the exterior), back down Madison Avenue to escape the crowds and breathe, back through Times Square, then back home. Yeah, that was one sentence. Want to make something of it? Uh-oh. I was in my travel in crowds in Manhattan persona. Oops!

The knees held up just fine. I only sat for a few minutes on a chair in Bryant Park. (Oh yeah, I went there, too.) For some reason, five different people stopped me to ask directions to five different places. Hey, just because I'm walking alone in the city doesn't necessarily mean I know where everything is! Thankfully, they all asked for places I do happen to know like Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center and such. So I guess I was a good one to ask. I couldn't answer the folks who asked me a bus question, though. I have never been on a New York City bus. Subways, taxis and on foot, yes. Bus, no. 

Three separate groups of people -- an older white couple, a group of five black hip-hop garbed teenagers, and a family who seemed to speak either Russian or Polish -- handed me their iPhones and asked me to take photos of them. Don't they know that Mayor Bloomberg claims the rise in the robbery rate is due to iPhone and iPad thefts? Do I NOT look dangerous and thuggish? Sheesh. Yeah, I took their photos for them and handed them back their expensive playtoys. I figured I could probably only outrun the elderly couple.

Other than the trip into the city, it was a quiet week. Some real icky weather at times, but quiet for me. How was your week?

Onto the MANY photos -- clicking on an image will open it in a new Photobucket window, clicking again will make it larger. To return here, just close out the Photobucket window.

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

The holiday light show at Saks Fifth Avenue ...

Empire State Building

The lights are even better now! They replaced the old lighting system with new LED lights and can actually do "light shows." Before, every time they wanted to change colors, they had to physically remove a huge colored lens from each light. Now, it's computerized. Since the colors atop the building change per event, celebration, whatever ... this is going to be fantastic now!

Bryant Park tree and skaters

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