Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was 10/11/09

It's Sunday morning. You know what that means -- it's time to reflect back on the week gone by in words and photos I've taken on my daily travels. Not that I've had any really exciting traveling going on this past week, mind you. As I recover from my bout with bronchitis, I've just been going back and forth from home to work and vice versa. Although I think I gathered some decent slice-of-life photos, I have no stunning artworks this week.

I had yet another hectic work week. I'd like that to stop, please. I just want a quiet work week ... just one. Thank you.

In the Dumb Criminals Department:
I have a police scanner (they can be both entertaining and informative) and listened to this going on the other night in town (Plainfield, NJ) --
An officer was sent to investigate a robbery report regarding one of the local taxi companies. Apparently a group of four called a cab to pick them up a few blocks away from where I live, rode across town with him, and robbed the driver. They got away with his money. Now, they should have stopped there, right? Nope.

The same group called the same cab company from the same phone from the same location less than two hours later. Duh. Of course, the cabbie who responded was a cop in the cab with back-up all around. They got nabbed. How stupid are these thug-wannabees? There are at least five local cab companies. They called the same one they just robbed? To respond to the same pick-up location? From the same phone number? Talk about deserving to be caught! No one got hurt and four dummies will be facing the judge. Heh.

Also on the local front, I'm doing something I don't usually do. I'm going to go political for a moment. With the issues going on with my landlord (the largest one in the city), I've become a lot more cognizant of the local government. While the current mayor of Plainfield seems to give lip service and appears to be involved, nothing is really happening. If not for the Courier News (local paper) reporter on the story, Mark Spivey, I think absolutely nothing would even be known about issues with Connolly Properties. In investigating more about the local powers that be, I'm actually going to come out and support a candidate for mayor, a Republican one at that. And, I'm not a Republican. I just think he seems to have the passion to improve the city -- Jim Pivnichny for mayor! There. I said it.

Onto the photos I've taken, clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window --

Deconstruction

I took these photos over a three week period and stitched them together. This is an abandoned bicycle at the Bridgewater (NJ) Train Station. The back wheel disappeared first. Then the seat, handlebars, and the front wheel (couldn't fit five photos in the image neatly), so it was just a frame sitting there with a rusted chain. Then it was just a single handlegrip and pedal. Bye-bye bike.

The train! The train!

Oh. Wait. That was Tattoo with "The plane! The plane!" My train arrives at the Plainfield Train Station last Saturday morning. The weekdays tend to have too many people to take decent arrival shots.

Blue in a sea of brick

I sometimes feel like this -- a blue home surrounded by larger red brick buildings on Watchung Avenue in Plainfield, NJ.

Full Moon

We had a full moon earlier this week. I believe it was the Harvest Moon, but don't quote me on that.

Not a full moon

Nope, it's the MetLife blimp over Bridgewater, NJ. Snoopy seems dressed for the holidays. What's up with that?

Squirrel Watching

Vincent prefers to sit in the open window. But today, he'll just have to sit and look through a closed window. It's too chilly! Vincent is doing well and his personality is really coming out more every day. I feared in the first week or two that I had a cat who only loved to sleep. Well, sleep and purr. But no ... he has really been getting into running around and playing with his toys. Yay! He has also decided he likes to experiment with getting up high. Not so yay. But he responds well to "No" and a motion to get down. Yay! In the time I've had him, he's gained a little bit of weight (he's still kind of lanky) and his fur has gone from very coarse to soft.

I've looked in at the NYC ACC website -- the cats they're offering are around 2,000 deeper in the numbers. Sigh. So many won't get adopted. I don't think Vincent would be alive right now had I not adopted him. But he's such a love. I think he's happy, too. Well, maybe not so much when I tell him he cannot be atop the entertainment center up near the ceiling. But then he runs around batting his lighted ball or with a catnip mouse in his mouth (dropping it, throwing it up in the air, batting it under the bookcase, then scrambling to get it back) ... and he's forgotten his aspiration for higher heights. As I type this, he's sleeping on my lap.

It's a 1957 Ford Fairlane

Yes, I spotted that car once again. This time I got close to the back of it and found out its make. It's related to the Custom Underground car folks in Plainfield, NJ.

This one is in my 'hood

This car appeared nearby my apartment building this week. It's a 1965 Pontiac Catalina. Only $5,000! Of course, brand new back in 1965, it cost a lot less than that. But, in looking around the Internet, the price seems to be a steal.

You Will Be Towed

Yes, you, you trespasser. We're gonna put you personally on a rig and tow you on outta here! I think this sign in Plainfield should specify no parking or your car will be towed or no trespassing -- but not an odd mix of both messages.

Mutant New Jersey Bug

I have no clue what this is. It's not a grasshopper, nor is it a Praying Mantis. It sits on four huge legs like a tripod (but four - a quadropod?) It jumps and it flies. It has rather dubious eyes. It doesn't look like it bites, though. That's a good thing.

Here One Day

Gone the next. This group of mushrooms sprouted up in one day, the next they looked like a pile of excrement.

More Odd Nature

In the summer this plant has off-white blooms nothing like this bizarre red ball with spiky thingees.

As the Sun Rises

The view from the train station as the sun was about to rise one day this week. Tomorrow I expect my morning journey to be totally dark.

A notable Plainfield-born person passed away this week -- photographer Irving Penn. What a tremendous talent! While he and I obviously share a passion for images, he knew what he was doing! Plus, it's nice to know that someone famous other than George Clinton (P-Funk) comes from Plainfield.

Oh ... and in other news this week -- Marge Simpson is going to be a Playboy centerfold. Um. Okay.

How was your week?

Survivor Samoa - 10/08 Episode Blog Party Post

The show is about to begin here on the East Coast. As it airs, I'll update this post with any major happenings. However, the real action is in the comments section! Please feel free to join in with your thoughts while having fun with friends. Late tonight my show review will be posted on TV Squad.

Galu won reward -- chickens.

Foa Foa won immunity. Yikes!

Yasmin was voted out.

The Amazing Race - Second Episode Blog Party 10/04/09

Yikes, the show is actually starting roughly on time here tonight. As it airs here on the East Coast, I'll update any major happenings in this entry. However, the real fun (and most of the information) will be in the comments. Everyone is welcome to join in. My actual show review will be posted over on TV Squad sometime late tonight.

Pit Stop
1. Flight Time and Big Easy - won a trip to Aruba
2. Megan and Cheyne
3. Gary and Matt
4. Brian and Ericka
5. Sam and Dan
6. Maria and Tiffany
7. Mika and Canaan
8. Zev and Justin
9. Keri and Lance
10. Marcy and Ron -- Philiminated

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was 10/04/09

It's time for my weekly look back at life in photos I've taken and words. I was sick for most of the week. As a matter of fact, yesterday was the first day I felt somewhat normal. Blech, bronchitis.

However, I went to work each day. I had to, didn't really have much choice. We were expecting an audit from the Department of Labor and I'm the one who maintains and audits those records for my company. When it comes to state or federal audits, I tend to freak out a bit and want to make sure all goes well. Phew. We passed the audit with flying colors. The man said, "You run a tight ship here." Yes!

On the home front, the relationship with Vincent the Cat continues to grow. I've asked him what his story is, but he won't tell. I've had affectionate cats throughout my life, but they pale compared to him. When I come home from work he actually leaps from the floor to my shoulder, droops over my back or around the back of my neck and purrs.

He was neutered, definitely needs a person, yet was found as a stray on the streets of New York City. It's well known there that if you lose a pet, you need to report it to New York City Animal Care and Control. No one reported him missing. So he's now my lovebug cat. He's very well-behaved, only uses his litterbox, and only scratches his sisal mat. If he had his way, he'd be attached to me 24/7. But he is beginning to understand he doesn't have to be ON me all the time -- NEAR me can suffice.

Other than the DOL audit, I had a relatively uneventful week schlepping off to work, then home, nursing my bronchitis the best I could. One day I went from the train station to drop my photo entries off at the Plainfield Library for the contest. On the way back towards a bus stop which would get me closer to home, I walked through one of the historic districts in town and fell in love with cool houses.

Onto this week's photos --

Does this shot make my butt look big?

Vincent, naturally.

Strangers on a bench

Folks waiting for the train in Plainfield, NJ. This a town which screams "Diversity!" I'm happy to be living here where there is such an array of different cultures.

The stinkhorn has grown some ...

Hey, I don't make these things happen. I just chronicle the events. It's a mushroom.

The Queen City

One of the days I didn't go into work before dawn, I snapped this shot as I approached the train station. See the teenager in khaki and red? That's the new school uniforms. With the exception of being slightly reminiscent of Target staff, the uniforms seem to solve a lot of issues. I don't know how I would react if I were still a student. But, then again, there were strict dress codes during my school days and the world was a different place. As for the "Queen City" reference on the railroad overpass, you'll see why soon. Although the town is known to be very gay friendly, that's not what the Queen refers to.

A Colt 45 in the bush is worth ...

... absolutely nothing. But in light of our Colt 45 discussion during BB11, when I saw this planter, I had to shoot it. Outside of a bar on Church Street in Plainfield.

In the elevator one morning

My landlord will rent to anyone these days. He was not a good conversationalist.

Blackberry's

I'm going to have to stop there some Tuesday after work for that $10 take-out dinner special. While Plainfield is full of ethnic and cultural restaurants of every nationality, I'm not big on the spicy foods many of the Latino places offer. But Blackberry's specializes in Southern and soul food. This New York Times article explains it nicely. No, I don't think I'd be a fan of barbecued pigs feet. But I just love many of the Southern food offerings! Oh, gee. I went and looked up that menu and now I'm hungry. Maybe this Tuesday!

I promised him

I was sitting on a bench on Watchung Avenue in Plainfield messing with my camera. This street dude wanted me to take his picture, so I did. I told him I'd put it on my blog, so I did. He was pleasant enough and didn't ask me for money. However, he was slightly inebriated.

Plainfield YMCA

There's something about the old-style sign I really like.

To the Queen City

Okay, I mentioned this before. The houses in the next group of pictures are in the Crescent Avenue Historic District in Plainfield, NJ. Although lots of gay folks have bought up some of the historical homes, that's not why the town is dubbed The Queen City. I've read two different reasons for the name. One says it's because when Plainfield became a town a couple of centuries ago, it was known as "the Colorado of the East" for its clean air. Denver was the "Queen City of the Plains," so Plainfield became "The Queen City."

A beautiful Queen

The other reasoning behind the nickname is the architecture in town -- the Queen Anne homes and Victorian houses which are simply stunning. Some have been cut into apartments, others are still single family homes restored to their original elegance.

I SO love these!

If any Plainfield cool homes owners are looking for a good tenant with a cat for a one bedroom under $1,000 per month ... ME! Ex-governer Jim McGreevey lives in a fancy-schmancy home in Plainfield, but I deem these much cooler.

I see a red door ...

... and I want it to turn black. No colors anymore, I want them to turn black.

Okay, I'll stop singing. My apologies to the Rolling Stones. But when I see a red door, it makes me go retro-rock.

I do NOT live here

My neighborhood is very different in Plainfield. I live in a high-residential zone with many apartment buildings (including two high-rise towers), apartment complexes, and a few older original homes. I don't live in one of the historic districts, but I like my neighborhood. It's quiet and low-crime. The folks around here are pleasant on the whole and public transportation, as well as walking, is perfect. I could use a new landlord, though.

My train was late yesterday

Which gave me a good opportunity to take photos as they were setting up for the Plainfield Fire Safety Day right in front of the train station. Note the window woman was there again. No Roofus sightings this week. But the music blaring from the speakers in the foreground would have probably made him hide during this!

$100 a week for a 42-hour week!

This collage of vintage and present day images and articles takes a trip through the history of the Plainfield Fire Department.

Sparkie and Friends

Oh, a bouncy castle! Due to my late train, I watched this place inflate. Sparkie is a part of the July 4th Parade in Plainfield, NJ each year.

1923 Fire Engine

Cool, ornate. Sort of like how I mentioned the lack of creativity and neat touches on new buildings, the same speaks for new fire trucks. I know the ones today are more powerful. But, can we bring ornate back, please?

No, I Did Not Have Sex With David Letterman

Anyone who knows me knows that I've been a huge fan of David Letterman since his early days on national television -- from his brief morning show to his NBC days, then to the latest. Over the years I've often had fleeting thoughts about what it would be like to be on the writing staff for the show. But I never applied, never interned (it would be tough to explain the internship in relationship to an English teaching degree, plus his show didn't exist back then), and have only seen the man in person from a distance.

No, I'm not a stalker. No, I have not had sex with him. But, as a fan of so many years, I feel compelled to comment on the news which broke earlier this week.

To be honest, I'm not surprised that he's had sex with women staffers on the show. I'd be pretty shocked if it were men staffers. But women? Nah. I have a book written by Merrill Markoe some years back -- How to be Hap-Hap-Happy Like Me. She was his head writer on the NBC show ... and a girlfriend. His longtime girlfriend turned wife worked on the show's staff.

I recall the heavy duty years with "Monty" -- Stephanie Brikitt. I always thought something was going on between them. He seemed to have almost a schoolboy crush on her.

I look at things this way: If I vote for someone to hold the public's trust and they're married, then get involved in some stupid sex scandal ... I feel disappointed in them. You know, it's like I trust them to hold themselves to a higher standard because the public trusts them to run the country, etc.

But if someone is an entertainer, or even a worker/boss in the private sector, and unmarried ... it's their own business. Workplace affairs happen whether it's television staffers or convenience store employees. As long as there isn't any sort of coercion, it's no skin off my nose. I would think his wife of of seven months/many years girlfriend probably knew about at least some of his dalliances. After all, she worked there, too.

What's really creepy to me is that a man with the background of the alleged blackmailer would do something that incredibly stupid. It was also creepy that the audience inappropriately laughed. I could see Letterman was a bit perplexed by that, as was I watching at home.

But what do I know? I'm sitting here with a cat wrapped around my shoulders like some kind of really heavy boa on a Saturday night. And, it's pretty darned uncomfortable. For me, at least. The cat seems to be very comfortable.