Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - February 5, 2012

It's Sunday morning once again. Odd thing, that. It seems like it comes around once a week or so! But, because it's here again, it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken.

First, let's talk a little about television. I'm tired of the American Idol auditions. I'm glad they're over and it's onto Hollywood next week. Perhaps I've just wearied of the show concept, but no one I've seen has rocked my socks. Eventually, in just a few weeks, Idol will be up against Survivor on Wednesday night. When that time comes, I go Survivor. 

Since we've entered the February sweeps, at least Letterman was new this week. I can't believe he's been hosting late nights for 30 years. The scary thing is that I think I've seen most of the shows! Although I got a new Southland, I want a new Castle!

Okay, onto my week ...

As I mentioned last week, on Sunday I went into the city to the big Lunar (Chinese) New Year parade in Chinatown. Oy. I really didn't think of how crowded it would be. I'm not a fan of crowds, especially ones which totally squish me. Had I realized it, I would have headed in earlier. Instead, I decided to watch CBS Sunday Morning and, at 10:30 when it ended, I packed up my DSLR and my best Canon point and shoot, then moseyed to the bus stop on the corner to catch the 10:41 bus which ended up being late. The parade was supposed to wind through the streets of Chinatown from 11 to 4.


But I didn't know 400,000 people would show up! The crowd situation was worse than the two years I've ventured into Times Square (and never will again) for New Year's Eve. The bus I took ends up at Port Authority which is way uptown from Chinatown. By the time I took three separate subway lines to end up down there, it was going for 1PM and the crowds were unbelievable.

Although there were tons of police, NYPD really did a horrible job with crowd control. I got really SQUISHED, to the point of being scary squished -- the pressure of the bodies was probably capable of breaking brittle bones. On one block on Mott Street (that's almost the Main Street of Chinatown), the police kept letting people in one end while the police at the other end blocked them in. The crush was horrid and only relieved when a bunch of folks started screaming that someone was hurt, someone fainted and one yelled that someone was dead. But no one either fainted or was dead that I saw. I think they just wanted to get the cops to let us out of the crush. 


So the cops opened a barricade and let us go right into Hester Street where another segment of the parade was coming through. Now, they wanted us to go back onto the sidewalk on Hester. But I found a safe crowd-free place between two parked cars on the street and stayed right there for the rest of the parade. So, while this was a great photo op in thought, the reality was not as exciting. If I go again, I'll go early in the morning and stake out a spot right along the street, not stuck in the masses in the middle of the sidewalk.


Yet I'm glad I went. I did get some nice shots, not necessarily of the parade. Because I have so many photos, you can expect the Tropicana subway shots next week. Since I took the 6 train back uptown and planned to take the 7 over towards Port Authority only to find out that the 7 is shut down on the weekends right now for maintenance, I ended up on this bizarre Times Square shuttle which hyped Tropicana orange juice. It was kind of cool, but I didn't want to add that series to this already photo-laden entry.


Oh yes, I always seem to end up in Times Square. But, never again on New Year's Eve. The reason I always end up there is because I take the bus home (it stops right across the street from my apartment) and the Port Authority Bus Terminal is in the edge of Times Square. If I take a train home, I don't go that far uptown.


That was my big excitement for the week. Other than that, it was work, eat, sleep, rinse and repeat. Onto the photos ... clicking on an image will open it larger in a gallery thingee.

Call me a cab!

Yes, that's a NYC cab. But take a closer look. That's the Plainfield Police Department in the background. Apparently some folks have money to throw away. The train or bus would cost $10 or less. I believe the going rate for the cab is $135 these days. That's not including the tip! Since his number light was lit, he was available. I should have hailed him to bring me home and found out the difference for the crosstown trip from him versus the local cabs. This was taken Monday afternoon on Watchung Avenue, Plainfield.

Cover me -- I'm going in!

I guess the parade is in there somewhere!

Not sure what to make of it all

I took this one stuck in the mob on Mott Street. Some parents were foolish enough to bring strollers. The best place for small children was atop the shoulders of their parents. It kind of spoiled the view for people like me, but it was the safest for the kids. This one wasn't quite that high. One idiot during my squished state actually had rolling luggage! I couldn't figure out why my upper body was moving around a bit in the crowd but my legs seemed to be stuck against a rock or something! I thought the knee replacements got bent!

***CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS***

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - January 29, 2012

Yes, yes ... it's already Sunday once again. Time flies when you're on a staycation! I meant to post about television this week. I realize I've been woefully negligent in that regard. Obviously, I will kick it in gear once shows make their return for the "winter season." Huh. I remember when there wasn't a winter season!

I'm already enjoying the return of Southland on TNT. It's a gritty urban police drama set in Los Angeles, but created by the same folks who brought us the NYC-based Third Watch some years back. It may not be everyone's cuppa tea, but I like it! I've also been watching the American Idol auditions. So far, I'm not overly impressed with anything other than the fact that Steven Tyler still has young girls all ga-ga for him. He's probably old enough to be some of the contestants' grandfather!

On the home front, the painting/new kitchen floor has been postponed a few weeks. I'll just have to inform work that I need a few days off mid-February. That won't be an issue as I have PTO (paid time off) I can take and the payroll budget will get another reprieve without my pay for those days. PTO doesn't come out of the budget. I want to be here when workmen are in and out, both for Vincent's sake and my own distrust of strangers.

As a result of the postponement, I didn't really do a heck of a lot this week. I cleaned my closets. I napped. I read. I watched TV. All of those activities were accompanied by a cat. You know that!

My big event of the week is actually occurring today. By the time most of you read this, I'll be in Chinatown photographing and probably taking some videos of the huge Lunar New Year Parade. It's the Year of the Dragon, so I'm expecting quite the photo op! Of course, I do mean Chinatown in NYC, not Philly or San Francisco or wherever other Chinatowns might be. 

I'll probably pick up a Chinese food lunch from whichever restaurant catches my fancy followed by something sinfully chocolate and a coffee in Little Italy before catching the subway back up to Port Authority. It will be a fairly short jaunt into the city as the parade ends around 4PM. So, I'll be home in plenty of time to get a good night's rest before Monday morning hits.

Due to my lackadaisical ways this past week, I don't have a ton of photos. Next week, I will. Clicking on an image will open it larger in a nifty-keen gallery doohickey thingee.

It's forever 11:36

"I used to live in Plainfield City
Everything there was dark and dirty
Outside my window there was a street park
With a clock that always said eleven-thirty-six."


My apologies to The Mamas and the Papas and 'Twelve-Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon).' Oh. And my windows don't look down on this scene at the corner of Park Avenue and the East/West Front Street split in Plainfield. But I do find Plainfield, in my pedestrian ways, is usually a town where people say "Good morning" and really mean it.

You can't see me in the dense brush

Hiding in plain sight, that's the way to do it! The squirrels really seem to be enjoying the lack of snow this year as much as I am. I can only hope it continues.

Fun with photo editing

I severely messed with this one. It's actually a shot of tree branches in the rain lit up by a streetlamp. 

***HIT THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS***

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - January 22, 2012

It's Sunday morning, time for my weekly reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken. On the whole, this past week has been uneventful for me. I received the part I ordered for my best point and shoot camera and fixed it. And, once again the weather was a bit disagreeable for taking the newer fancy-schmancy DSLR around with me.

I took it along to work one day only to have the battery die in the cold as I was coming home. It's a good thing I bought a few spare batteries for it. It would be a better thing if I carried a spare that day! 

We had our first snowstorm of the season yesterday. Well, we had that weird Halloween snowstorm, but that doesn't really count as the winter season! It really wasn't bad at all for a snowstorm. If they were all like this one, I wouldn't mind at all. I wore my warm winter boots with great tread for walking in snow. I will admit I didn't bring the DSLR because I was scared I might fall. But the few inches of snow was actually good for traction on the sidewalks -- SO much better than the ice we had one day earlier in the week.

It was just about this time last year that I had a bad fall on ice (and into snow), spraining my right knee and sealing its fate. That was the day I told the orthopedic surgeon, "Okay, let's get the date set for the knee replacement." This year, it's a world of difference in both the amount of snow we're dealing with here in NJ (or lack thereof) and how my knees feel. I'm still leery of falling as I don't want to damage the knees, but they're probably much tougher than the rest of me.

I have a staycation looming ahead of me this week. I'm hoping that the weather and time will permit me to take a photo jaunt into Chinatown (NYC) to catch some of the festivities as they welcome in the Year of the Dragon. Now, THAT is something I'll bring the DSLR for! However, I also have to allot time for working and lurking around my apartment as I expect workmen in to paint and put in a new kitchen floor. I have to get everything off the walls, move my furniture, etc. in prep for the painting. I'll let them deal with the refrigerator in the kitchen. I might not want to know what's under it. Probably monsters.

Onto this week's photos --

Cawing all crows

Yes, I played with editing a bit on this one. This crow would just NOT STOP cawing! Bridgewater, NJ.

The sun also sets

The days are getting slightly longer and I got out of work a bit earlier one day in time to catch the sun hanging low in a sky filled with contrails from passing jets. The harsh angle of the winter sun often attracts my photo eye, but this time it was the sun itself. Plainfield Train Station.

Yes, it's snow

Looking in disbelief at it won't change the fact, buddy. It's snow. We've been lucky so far this year. I edited this to leave only the man in color, but there wasn't a heck of a lot of color otherwise anyway. Plainfield Train Station.

**CLICK THE "READ MORE" LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS!**

New Survivor Cast Announced

The new season of Survivor premieres on Wednesday, February 15, at 8pm ET/PT. The cast was announced today on the CBS show website with an intro video hosted by Jeff Probst and individual cast videos. For me, the best news is that there will be NO Redemption Island! Sure, it was interesting for its first season, but I didn't think we needed a second go of it last season. 

As for this season's twists, my personal jury is still out. It's men versus women, the two tribes living together sans any real rules ... it could be chaos! I suspect we'll see lots of folks "secretly" working with others not on their tribe. Hidden idols are still in play, but with the twist that each tribe has one to find and the person finding it cannot keep it. They must give it to someone from the other tribe. What? Color me confused!

Here's the intro video ...



Your thoughts? It seems to me that this is mostly an eye-candy cast for both men and women as opposed to the casting of the past few years. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. I predict a lot of censorship blurring.

Off Topic - That Was the Week It Was - January 15, 2012

It's Sunday morning, time for my weekly reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken. This hasn't been one of the best weeks for me. I managed to cut my foot which has made walking literally a pain. (Ow.) Yet I have so much I need to get done at work, I didn't want to take time off. So, ow.

The weather hasn't really been cooperating much this past week either. I had to deal with severe winds and rain or, at other times, brutally cold temperatures. As a result, I didn't bring my fancy-schmancy new DSLR camera with me but a day or two. I now have the case for it, but earlier in the week I didn't want to expose it to the rain. And, as I'm still waiting for a part, my pocket camera is my older one. Thus ... not a great selection of photos this week.

In the good news department, both knees are fine and Vincent is well. Without further ado, onto the photos --

Golden Rays

This was taken with the DSLR. I'm still learning more about settings and such. However, the golden rays were an actuality. The only editing I did with this one was cropping and making it smaller to post. Plainfield Train Station.

Stormy Lamps

The same day, but facing away from the sunset.

Keep back 300  ... um .. eft?

Not the DSLR. I took this one walking to the local bodega. I edited it to leave only the fire engine in color. Berckman Street, Plainfield.

Eats

The older camera, as well. This restaurant is on Watchung Avenue in Plainfield. There are several South and Central American restaurants in town serving the changing population. I'm not really keen on Mexican and various other countries foods, so I can't tell you if the food is good or not. However, it seems like this particular fairly new restaurant always has a patron or two inside eating while others come for carry out.

Rainy neon glow

Winter in New Jersey. Well, at least this winter and so far. The wind was blowing the rain sideways (and I had a cut on my foot!) when I took this shot. I was soaked clear through. Wah. Watchung Avenue, Plainfield.

Monsoon morning

Yep, that's rain on the train. It doesn't fall mainly on the plane. Plainfield Train Station and my ride to work is here.

The sun also rises

I went in later one morning and caught the reflection of the sunrise in one window. So I left that one window in color. North Avenue across from the train station. Yes, I know I've done this sort of thing with these same windows before. But I don't believe I've caught the rising sun before.

Darned paparazzi, shoo!

I stalked Vincent so much with the DLSR camera that I think I annoyed him. Poor cat. He's so abused, eh?

Am I boring you, Vincent?

This was the same photo session. I guess he was sleepy!