Off Topic - That Was The Week It Was - 1/03/10

Baby, it's cold outside! Here in New Jersey it's bitter cold with high wind warnings. I hope everyone reading this is home, warm and cozy. I am. (So is Vincent.) And, of course, it's Sunday -- time to ramble through my week in words and photographs I've taken. Speaking of photos, the 2009 Plainfield Library Photo Competition is now up online if you want to peek at the entries.

Where to start? Hmmm ... it's COLD. Waah. Hmmm ... television has been mostly boring with reruns. I watched all of The Thin Man movies on TCM New Year's Eve into New Year's Day. No one can beat Myrna Loy and William Powell! I realize the movies were filmed in the 30s and early 40s, but they're ahead of their time. Oh, Asta the dog was great, too.

On a dog, TV, and movie note -- I went into work two hours early and got home an hour early Saturday night. That works out, right? Anyway, since I got home an hour earlier than I usually do, I looked to see what was on television. Old Yeller was on TCM. I recall seeing the movie when I was young, but it must have been a re-release of some sort. I was around eight when I saw it, yet the original release was 1957. I was NOT eight years old in 1957! Nor would I remember any movie I saw in 1957. I remembered the story and also knew it really upset me at the time. So, like a fool, I caught the last hour of it knowing the ending. I'm such a sap! It still got to me.

In other TV watching, I watched a whole lotta episodes of Barney Miller Friday on WGN. Then I watched the Chicago news at 9 PM at 10 PM. Then I watched the NYC/NJ news at 11 at 11. "It's just a jump to the left, and then a step to the right, with your hands on your hips, you bring your knees in tight, but it's the pelvic thrust that really drives you insane, let's do the Time Warp again!" No, I didn't watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but the Time Warp seemed to fit in here. I enjoyed the Barney Miller episodes, the news not so much. But the cold they had in Chicago arrived in this area yesterday and today. Brrr.

I know New Year's Eve came during the week, but my own week was rather uneventful. By the time I got home from work on New Year's Eve, I was already hearing all kinds of accident calls on my police scanner. The roads around here were slick and the drunks were out. I like to think I can be pretty slick at times, but I don't do drunk well. I learned my lessons about drunk decades ago and, though I'll drink some socially, I won't get drunk. I don't like the feeling and I get sick to my stomach. To me, that's not a good way to start out a new year. Instead, I baked Trader Joe's truffle brownies and had hot chocolate with them at midnight.

Onto this week's photos --

Berckman Street Bunny

As I walked to the local bodega, I spotted this guy munching on grass between two houses. You know I had to shoot him. He can't be a wild rabbit -- he's fat and clean, bigger than most cats. I'd estimate he weighs a good 15 pounds or more. As I shot him, one of the people who live nearby told me he's been hanging around for over a month, disappeared with the snow cover, then reappeared. He told me he called animal control on him, but they couldn't catch him. Since he's so fat, so clean, and went away during the snow cover, he thinks the rabbit must have access in and out of someone's home. Just in case he doesn't, he's been putting carrots out for him in his backyard. Berckman Street, Plainfield, NJ.

Eek! Crazed Killer Rabbit!

Er, no. It's just I had to use the flash and it made his eyes glow. This is as close as I got to him, then he went through a basement window under one house's porch. Maybe he's their rabbit. I don't know. Berckman Street, Plainfield.

Brr. Foggy Windows

Danny's Bakery early Saturday morning in the FREEZING cold. Of course, my eyeglasses would steam up if I went in there, too. I edited to make the windows and sign in color while the remainder is black and white. Corner of North and Watchung, Plainfield, NJ.

From the train window - One

This is the Rock Ice Pavilion -- indoor ice skating year round. It's still a hit all through the winter. There's always a year-round snow pile in the back of the building from the Zamboni, even when it's 90 degrees out. Taken as I commuted to work on the New Jersey Transit Raritan Valley Line near Dunellen, NJ.

From the train window - Two

On one side, we have factories and industrial buildings. Raritan Valley Train Line, NJ Transit outside of Dunellen/Bound Brook area, NJ.

From the train window - Three

Ah, the Chipman Chemical Company -- New Jersey, just as you pictured it, eh? This is approaching Bound Brook heading west on the Raritan Valley Train Line. To be honest, there are some woods and streams where I spot deer, herons, and such. But the woods blur with the train movement when trying to use the camera.

Naked again, finally

No Santa suit! Yay! Vincent has no clue how cold it is outside. He's curled up sleeping as I type this.

Lights, shadows, and snow

The fury of the early morning snow on New Year's Eve morning took just about everyone by surprise. It wasn't snowing when I headed out to walk to the train station. I stopped a few minutes at Everybody's Food Store on East Front Street and came out to snow coming down. Two short blocks from there is this scene at the corner of Church and East Second. The snow is covering the roads and sidewalks and blowing about.

Another short two blocks

Gee, it's really coming down. It didn't snow for all that long, but was coming down at the rate of about two inches an hour. East Third Street and Watchung Avenue, Plainfield.

Snow on the bushes

First Fresh Tracks!

"I walk this empty street, On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Where the city sleeps and I'm the only one and I walk alone." - "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day. Yes, these are my tracks. I find it interesting that I'm putting more pressure on the toes of my knee replacement knee. Before the knee replacement, I'd wear my right shoes out leaving the left one fine due to my horrid limp. Now I must be limping the other way -- weight on the left knee replacement knee and taking it easy on the right one.

What is going on here?

The brief blizzard continues. North Street across from the Plainfield Train Station.

There's no business like snow business ...

Plainfield Train Station under siege from snow.

Where IS that train?

Supposedly security was beefed up this week due to terror issues. No evidence of such on my train line. Every now and then, we see NJ Transit cops. We're more likely to see local police.

I see the light!

It's either the train or that woman has an aura of goodness and light about her. Plainfield Train Station.

The train has arrived

Note the cowboy boots. I see more cowboy boots around here than I did when I lived in California. Mind you, I'm not seeing a lot of horses or cows, especially in this area. When I first moved here, I almost drove off the road when I saw an elephant walking along the road. Yes, an elephant. No, I wasn't drinking, nor was it pink. There used to be a zoo around the Scotch Plains/Plainfield area and I happened to be driving by when one of the elephants was taking an illegal jaunt. It's a shame I didn't carry a camera back then like I do now.

It's her again ... or still

If she didn't change clothes, I'd think I was seeing dead people. She's always in the single seat by the stairs on the double-decker train. Me? I hog up the four-seater across the aisle from her. The morning trains always have plenty of room heading the wrong way for peak during the rush hours. That's the stairs and my seat check you see in the foreground.

Hugo's

Hugo's, a bar in the pre-dawn hours, not at night. Again, I'm loving the lights and shadows. I've never been inside. I probably will never be inside. The corner of Church and East Front Streets in Plainfield.

How was your week? And, welcome back, JoyN. (Folks might want to check out the New Year's Eve comments to see what's been going on with her.) Oh ... and a welcome to new folks coming aboard! Pretty soon, we're getting new show seasons! Yay!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year (well, New Year's Eve as it's not midnight here yet)! Looking back at 2009, we had some good TV seasons, some dubious winners on reality shows, a lot of confusion on LOST and Heroes ... but all in all, we were entertained.

But, to me, even more important than television (WHAT? something more important than TV?!?!), is the fact that the friends who frequent the blog here have become a cherished part of my own life. And, of course, each other's lives, too! We're meeting each other in person and having tons of fun. I appreciate the thoughtfulness and kindnesses so many of you have shown me over the past year. I probably wouldn't have Vincent if not for those of you who helped me out. And, although I dearly miss Scherzo, Vincent is a way cool cat and even lets me put him in Santa suits! Thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart -- oh, the top and middle of it, too!

Zoetawny made us a New Year's Eve 2010 graphic ... she continues to rock! A few folks asked if I would put up an entry tonight for those staying in. I count myself as one staying in. I got home from work around 7 PM tonight and I won't be going back out there again. I've done the Times Square ball thing twice in my life and that might be once too much. I also had to endure the crowds of drunken college-age kids on the train tonight as they headed to go there. Call me old. Call me a curmudgeon, call me cantankerous. I'm staying in for the night!

I found out that the Turner Classic Movies channel is having a Thin Man movie marathon all evening. Wow! Other stations have The Three Stooges, TLC has an odd array of sex-related shows (um, n'okay), and such. But it's Thin Man movies for me! They're great and I own only one of them, so this is fantastic!

But I'll surely be peeking in here on and off. Everyone is welcome to stop by, hang out, cyber-drink and snack ... and dance! Please do NOT step on the cat while doing the watusi, though. He doesn't like that.

Off Topic - That Was The Week It Was - 12/27/09

Yikes! I overslept and missed all of CBS Sunday Morning! I never sleep like that -- I mean, I'm talking about waking up at 10:45. I just don't do that. I usually wake up by around 6:30 or so. Luckily, it's Sunday. At least I didn't wake up two or three hours (or four!) late on a workday.

Since it's Sunday, it's time to take a look back on the week in words and photographs I've taken. It's been a busy and bizarre week on the whole. It started out as a winter wonderland here and has ended up with looking and feeling like spring. Yesterday's persistent and heavy rains washed away all of the snow except for the larger snowbanks. It only decimated them from mountains to mole hills.

Of course, Christmas was on Friday. It was nice to have a white Christmas around here even though it was slightly used snow by then. When I was growing up, with the exception of stints in California and Connecticut, we had white Christmases more often than not. Here? Not so much. So, the snow worked and now that it's mostly gone, I have better pedestrian times once again.

On Monday the snow gave me an opportunity to find out that younger generation gentlemen do exist in Plainfield, NJ. I had gotten off the train and decided I'd catch the bus across town home instead of walking. There was another woman I knew at the bus stop and we chatted while waiting. She's pregnant and I have knee issues which make falling a scary ordeal. There was a huge snowbank all along the curb with no way to access the bus anywhere near the bus stop. A young man, no older than 22 or so, was waiting near us and heard us talking about the snowbank. When the bus came, he helped both of us, one at a time, up and over the snowbank. Who said chivalry is dead? If only his mom could see ... she would have been proud of the young man she raised. And, gee ... if I were thirty years younger (or so) ... ! He was also very good-looking.

Let's see what else ... hmmm. I spent most of the holiday week working. After seeing an article in the paper about two complexes owned by my landlord without heat, I felt a bit smug my own apartment building was warm and cozy. Er, I spoke too soon. I woke up shivering Wednesday in the pre-dawn hours. Apparently my heat had gone off earlier in the night. I really wish the man would pay his bills or just let the bank take the building. Thankfully, I own a space heater from some apartment in the past. I closed off the bedroom, did some baking and used the space heater to keep the main part of my apartment warm. I slept in the living room that night. When I came home from work on Christmas Eve, the heat was back on. That's a good thing as I couldn't run the oven or space heater when I was away.

I feel guilty. I think I must have an evil sense of humor. But, the following situation was so much like some sort of slapstick movie that I must share (while feeling guilty for giggling about it). On Christmas Eve, my train home was first announced as twenty minutes late, then canceled. The trains were running the regular schedule, so I knew the next one would be at 5:40 PM in lieu of the canceled one (5:14 PM). Now, this is Bridgewater, NJ, heading towards Manhattan on Christmas Eve.

Most of my fellow regular commuters apparently left work earlier than I did. So, I knew no one at the station. There was a crowd of about twenty other people waiting in the little building. I could tell they were touristy types -- not regular train commuters. They were all dressed like they were going into the city for dinner and then midnight mass at St. Patrick's or something. Most of them were older. One was in a wheelchair at the non-accessible Bridgewater station.

Okay, the stage is set. Now, the announcements coming through the PA system said that the next train would be the the 5:34 from Raritan. I know that translates to the 5:40 in Bridgewater. I was standing away from the building snapping photos. When I heard a train horn in the distance, I glanced at my watch. Nope, can't be our train. The trains never come early and it was only around 5:30.

Well, I watch as the Crowd of Twenty comes out of the building and assembles on the platform. Um. They shouldn't do that. Yes, there was a train coming. But it wasn't ours. It was a deadhead. Those trains go through at about 120 miles an hour, go sit at a station, then join in for more trains running at peak hours.

Oh my gosh. The train zoomed on by, throwing snow clouds all about it, blowing the hats off the Crowd of Twenty and scaring them so that they actually shrieked! It was like a scene from a vaudeville movie or something! About ten minutes later, I heard our train horn and I went to the platform. I saw the Crowd of Twenty peek out and a man said, "She's on the platform. Maybe it's safe this time."

My own holiday was rather uneventful since I worked the day before and the day after. I want to thank those who sent me cards! Vincent and I had our own little feast and I relaxed. I made a point of watching the "Christmas and the Hard-Luck Kid" Mary Tyler Moore Show episode on Hulu. It's hard to believe it was all the way back in 1970 that Mary Richards had to spend Christmas alone working at the station in her new job. I so wanted to be like her when I got my first apartment a few years after that. I still have my "J" on my wall like her "M" in her apartment. Dang, that was a good show. I think I'm going to have to relive it episode by episode on Hulu.

I hope your holiday was a good one, full of family, food, and love -- not necessarily in that order. I want to thank you all for being a part of my extended family!

Anyway ... on to the photos. Clicking on an image will open it larger in a new window.

Can I take this off yet?

Heh. No, he hasn't been wearing it constantly. We did two separate photo shoots in it. I'm still shocked he let me put it on him and basically behaved in it. Teaser and Scherzo wouldn't have allowed it.

WARNING -- RATHER DISTURBING PHOTOS AHEAD. IF YOU HAVE SMALL CHILDREN, PLEASE MAKE THEM LEAVE THE ROOM OR SCROLL PAST THE NEXT TWO IMAGES!

There's been a horrible accident

BULLETIN, live from the North Pole -- Santa was hospitalized for injuries and charged with drunk sleigh driving in an unfortunate incident on East Second Street in Plainfield, NJ. Horrified citizens lined the street to view the crash. While the reindeer wouldn't talk to authorities, one just kept nodding when asked if Santa had hit the bottle after finishing his rounds. While Santa was thrown from the sleigh, his main complaint was exposure to the elements. The reindeer remained uninjured.

There's been a horrible crime!

The torso of Santa Claus (A.K.A. St. Nick) was found outside of a restaurant in Bound Brook, NJ. While his head has gone missing as well as his lower body, authorities have identified him through fingerprints and other identifying markers. Other than a Christmas tree tossed next to him, there are no clues to the identity of the evil ne'er-do-well who perpetrated this horrific crime. The public is asked to step forward to provide information leading to the arrest of the individual(s) who did this dastardly deed.

There. Now it's safe to have the kids come back in. No, I didn't stage either Santa photo. I just report what I see.

Eek! Birds over the NJ Transit Plainfield Train Station!

I encountered a woman screaming for help in a shopping center parking lot this week. She was surrounded by seagulls. I TOLD you the birds are conspiring! To be honest, she had fed them and they wanted more. I told her to stop screaming and just walk through them. Sheesh, silly woman. She led them on.

Scary alley at night

East Fourth Street in Plainfield. You can see the train station platform in the background. I wouldn't go into the alley, though. There could be denizens of the night in there!

Christmas Eve westbound train in Bridgewater, NJ

This train was going the other way from the way I want to go. Sure, they came on time! I accidentally used the flash and the colors on the side glowed.

Are you going to SHOOT me?

Yes. East Front Street in Plainfield, NJ.

Holiday lights

The folks on East Second Street in Plainfield are much more into holiday lights than the homes and apartments on my own street. This is one of two houses that get all decked out each Christmas. Sure, more than two houses are decorated. But, each year it's like these neighbors try to outdo each other. The snow makes it all so much more amazing!

However, instead of all kinds of lights, one thing I have in my 'hood really adds a nice touch to the holiday. Each evening, right as I was arriving home from work, the Presbyterian Church had its bells playing holiday hymns. While you hear secular seasonal songs all over in stores, it's refreshing to hear "O, Holy Night" or "Silent Night" played in church bells with the snow all around.

The sky is a hazy shade of winter

"Look around, leaves are brown, there's a patch of snow on the ground." - "Hazy Shade of Winter" by Simon and Garfunkel. Hang onto your hopes, my friends.

My Yearly Gripe (one of them) --

Why is this main sidewalk on the North Street side of the Plainfield Train Station NEVER shoveled? I think NJ Transit considers in Plainfield property while Plainfield totally ignores it! On my walk to the train station Monday morning, I was thrilled that every local property owner had cleared their walks. Sure, the plows had plowed in intersections (grr), but most of the walks were clear ... until I hit government owned walks downtown. The walk in front of the main post office had about a twelve-inch path to follow for nearly a block while this walk wasn't touched at all. This photo was taken on Wednesday when the snow STILL wasn't shoveled, only trampled down by pedestrians and diminished by the sun. This walk is an accident waiting to happen each winter. Fix it, Plainfield! Thank you.

NJ Transit train on the overpass at Bridgewater

I could also fuss about the property NJ Transit considers the ball park's walk while NJ Transit customers use it to access the station. Don't get me going! See in the distance where they stop the shoveling? That's my sidewalk I walk on. Grr.

Snowy Plainfield Train Station at night

Yes, people still use bikes this time of year. Not me.

More East Second Street festive lights

Plainfield, NJ

Windows in the early morning sun

Yes, I edited this to have only the windows catching the sun, the rest in black and white. North Street in Plainfield, NJ.

NJ Transit train

Yeah, I messed around with this one, too.

Pre-dawn Monday morning at the Plainfield Train Station

See the sidewalk (or lack thereof)? Plus, how am I going to get to there from here? It's amazing that private properties were all in good shape and I run into this from the city!

K's Radiator in the cold

Plainfield, NJ. Since my computer woes, I've lost the easier program I was using to do the black and white/color editing and have been solely relying on GIMP (free photo editor at gimp.org). I'll eventually find the CD which has the other photo editor I had, but I found an easier way to do this with GIMP.

1. Open photo in GIMP
2. Edit (on GIMP toolbar), highlight "copy."
3. Edit again, hit "paste as" and then select "new layer" from the drop-down menu which opens.
4. Go to Colors (on toolbar), hit "desaturate." That will turn the top layer image to black and white.
5. Go to the GIMP toobox and select the "eraser." Erase the section you want to reveal the color image layer underneath. If you go out of the lines, you can always hit Undo under the Edit on the toolbar, then re-do it to your liking.
6. Save the image. Beware, you want to probably save it as a JPEG image. The default is some sort of GIMP format, so you need to select JPEG. When it asks you to export the image to make it JPEG, tell it okay.

Actually, this method is much easier than what I was doing with my ArcSoft PhotoStudio program.

Welp, that's it for me. How was your week and your holiday (if you celebrate it)?

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Felicitations of All Kinds!

Above is the plan for Vincent and his Santa suit. Clicking on it will open it larger in a new window. Below is Zoetawny's way cool holiday tag for the blog which also includes Vincent. Zoetawny and all y'all rock! (I always wanted use that expression and here in NJ, it just doesn't work right.)

I'll probably write up another post sometime tomorrow, but I wanted to catch you while I could. For some reason, my Internet connection was down when I got home from work. So now I don't trust it. I hope everyone has a great holiday! And, for those who don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a great paid day off from work.

Vincent is such a ham.

Survivor Samoa Season Finale Blog Party Post

Argh, football doesn't care that we have a season finale and reunion show to watch. Football doesn't care that we're already booked for TV watching until 11 PM. That's right -- tonight's show is delayed here in the NYC viewing area. I believe 60 Minutes started at about 7:22 PM ET instead of 7:00 PM. While football doesn't care about our lack of sleep tonight, graphic artist Zoetawny cared enough to make us a new logo for the show. (She rocks, as we all know.)

Once the show starts, this entry will be updated with major events. But the real details and fun will be in the comments area. Everyone is welcome and you can even bring food and beverages. I do ask that no one swings from the chandelier, please. I'm going to open up the post now and I'll let you know when the show starts here.

8:22 PM ET and we're finally starting here. (Grr.)

Apparently it started on time in some places and Brett has won immunity again. Jaison was voted out according to those who have the show airing on time.

Russell has won immunity! (Finally!)

Brett voted out.

Natalie wins. That is SO wrong. At least Russell won the 100 thousand from the fan vote.