Late night open thread

Well the much hyped and needlessly frenetic show Destination Truth aired their big search tonight for the Jersey Devil down in the Pine Barrens. Not only did they not find the Jersey Devil but they also failed to find the Russian guy Christopher and Paulie thought they shot in the Pine Barrens episode of The Sopranos.

Josh Gates failed huge but he's certainly not alone. Many have tried to catch the wily Devil and all have come up empty.

Johnny is gonna have to head down to the Pine Barrens with A BIG OLD GUN and stay there until he bags his limit of Devils. Those who know Johnny know he's hard headed enough to stay down there and actually do it once he decides to. Plus he has some space on the mantle above the fireplace where a Devil head would look good stuffed and mounted.

BIG.OLD.GUN


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

For 8 seconds he had the best view of New York City

The Empire State Building was the site of a jumper suicide about 6:15 pm last night. The jumper, thought to be in his early 20's (and jumping from the 86th floor of the observation deck can turn anything into 'thought to be' status) climbed the fence at the northeast corner (The Chrysler Building corner) and jumped over the outer ledge. He landed down below outside the Bank of America branch on 34th St. with what onlookers called an 'explosion'. Yikes.

The jumper was thought to be part of a tour group. So he paid $20 to commit suicide, how quaint. We also wonder if he stopped to get his picture taken at the 'photo station' as you make your way though the building to the top (and for those unfamiliar with how the trip works they try to soak you by almost making you stand in front of a backdrop of the Empire State Building so they can collect more cash on your way out should you choose to purchase the picture).

This is at least the 34th jump from different levels on the New York City iconic building since it opened in 1931. Perhaps nothing will compare to the October 2000 suicide of a Canadian man who dressed up as a pirate before walking the plank from the observation deck as it were.

Warning, the link has a somewhat grim picture of a body covered in a tarp and there's not a lot there. Be ye warned.

Looking down southeast over the ledge from the observation deck (click for large scarier image)

Late night open thread

On this day in history in 1870, Texas was readmitted into the union. Not one of the Washington DC's finest ideas in hindsight. They were happier when they were Mexico, less trouble too.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Paul Mulshine of the Star-Ledger, grow a set man, don't be so sensitive

The Star-Ledger writer/blogger Paul Mulshine is one to often engage people who leave comments on his opinion pieces. Today Mr. Mulshine decided the news of the day was that the hideous show 'Jersey Shore' wasn't even filming in New Jersey anymore, they are down in South Beach in Miami to film a show about the Jersey Shore, well done MTV, well done. Your criminal element show now is 5 states away from where you claim it's done. Anyway, back to Mr. Mulshine. Since he interjects himself into the comments section Johnny can only believe he helps decide which comments get seen and which don't. Johnny left a comment on the Jersey Shore moving to Florida stating one of the characters on the show, Snooki, looked like a Hobbit version of Elvira. Well that comment was just too much for Paul apparently, as the comment went up, then came down.

Mr. Mulshine, either you or your blog content editor need to grow a set.

Very fitting music on a soak-a-licious Tuesday morning

Patty Griffin with 'Rain'

Late night open thread

An old online friend reminded Johnny it was five years ago today comedian Mitch Hedberg was found dead in a Livingston New Jersey hotel room. We dedicate tonight's late night thread to his memory.

"I was in a casino, minding my own business, and this guy came up to me and said, 'You're gonna have to move. You're blocking a fire exit.' As though if there was a fire, I wasn't gonna run. If you're flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit." -- Mitch Hedberg

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Would the owner of the submerged 1994 Jeep Cherokee in Bayonne please come claim your truck?

Well SOMEBODY is missing (or not if it's an insurance job) a 1994 Jeep Cherokee found submerged off the shore 'Behind the A&P Supermarket'. Police divers jumped in after it was noticed to look for potential bodies but found none. They also assumed the Jeep Cherokee had FLOATED there since there were no skid marks. Floated, as huge heavy Jeep vehicles are known to do in water. Maybe it paddled over from Brooklyn. Maybe the Jeep had always wanted to see the A&P in Bayonne.

If you have any info on this mystery Jeep, please contact Bayonne authorities before the old Monty Python meme kicks in that is was quite possibly carried there by a sparrow.

Late night open thread

Johnny wants to give a shout out to Michigan State and Tom Izzo for yet another great run in the NCAA Tournament and yes, another trip to the Final Four. Class coach for a class program.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Oh look, more flooding and coastal advisories

Yes it's time for the weekly flood watch. Starting tonight after midnight and stretching all the way through Tuesday afternoon a flood watch and coastal flood advisory have been posted. Yes commuter, this means your Monday morning commute is going to be one big wet crap-fest.

Wunderground teaches us thusly:

Today
Mostly cloudy. A chance of light rain this afternoon. Highs in the upper 40s. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Tonight
Rain...mainly after midnight. Patchy fog after midnight. Rain may be heavy at times after midnight. Breezy with lows in the mid 40s. Southeast winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of rain near 100 percent.

Monday
Rain. Patchy fog. Rain may be heavy at times. Breezy with highs in the upper 50s. South winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of rain near 100 percent.

Monday Night
Rain. Patchy fog. Rain may be heavy at times. Lows in the mid 40s. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90 percent.

Late night open thread

Q. What's pink and fluffy?
A. Pink fluff

Q. What's blue and fluffy?
A. Pink fluff holding it's breath

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

There will be an Easter egg hunt in Hamilton Park today

Bring your sweet tooth and your kids, there will be an Easter egg hunt on the East side of Hamilton Park today beginning at 3 pm. Of course there will be a creepy guy in an Easter Bunny suit for the kids to sit with and cry on his lap or next to him while parents take priceless pictures that will last forever.

Late night open thread

One nice birthday present, a Spartan Elite Eight team to cheer for. Buh-bye Cinderella.


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with NEKO CASE!

Yep, Johnny's birthday today, Johnny's favorite bands all night. FOUR of them too. Hey, ya gotta splurge once in a while. We're starting birthday night with Neko Case and 'Star Witness'.

Yes, FOUR

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE CLASH!

More of Johnny's birthday Johnny's faves tonight. Here's the Clash with 'Magnificent Seven'. The song was written by Joe Strummer in 45 minutes after walking around New York City in the late 70's and hearing kids doing rap and beat blocks on street corners. Hearing rap in it's infancy Strummer knew something was afoot and wrote this gem.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE ROLLING STONES!

How perfect, the Rolling Stones singing about New York City where Johnny plans to stake his claim tonight. The best of both worlds. Mick and Keef and the boys with 'Shattered'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE SUPREMES!

We wrap up Johnny's birthday choices with some of that sweet sweet Motown sound with The Supremes and 'I Hear a Symphony'.

Fireworks accidents are usually cool

A 16" shell, like the video says, was a dud until it hit the ground

Super Happy Fun Day kicks off with Monty Python

And the internationally acclaimed and classic of the highest order, The Parrot Sketch

Late night open thread

If your birthday is today (March 26th) you share it with Martin Short, Diana Ross, Sandra Day O'Connor, Keira Knightley and one Johnny Action Space Punk. And since today is Johnny's birthday and most of his plans involve staggering around Manhattan he declares today a Jersey City Desk Super Happy Fun Day. So it is written so let it be told.

Tonight before bed a few good minutes with birthday boy Martin Short


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

We have but one question for you all this morning

Who owns the moon? Please feel free to elaborate on your theories.

Late night open thread

All this bowling talk today got us in the mood for some bowling trickeration.


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

New Jersey City University will host the Women's NCAA Bowling Championships

How cool is that? New Jersey City University's women's team will host the NCAA Championships at the Brunswick Zone Carolier Lanes in North Brunswick. The tournament will be held April 8-10th and you can call 201-200-2444 for ticket info and let's get out there and show them some Jersey City love. How fab would it be to win an NCAA national championship right here in Cool City?

The following teams will join NJCU in the finals:

Arkansas State University
University of Central Missouri
Delaware State University
Fairleigh Dickinson University
University of Maryland, Eastern Shore
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Vanderbilt University

We're sure these are fine schools with dedicated student athletes. It's almost a shame to have to say they all suck.

We could lift entire paragraphs about how the matches are scored and how the brackets work but it's easier to just link it.

You can check out the team roster and coaching staff (and congratulations to all of you!) by clicking here. Wanna watch them try to win the title live? Click here.

NJCU will find out today if they get the NCAA bowling tournament bid

Let's keep our fingers crossed Jersey City. The troops over at NJCU are ranked #8 NATIONALLY and are hoping to be selected once again to try to win a national title. NJCU is the ONLY team to be invited to the NCAA Bowling Tournament championships every year they have been held. Last year the team had a great run to the NCAA championships in Canton, Michigan. This year's championships will be held in Brunswick NJ. The selection show is being shown live at NJCU as well as on ESPN at 4 pm.

Late night open thread

Famous last words edition:

"I did not get my Spaghetti-O's, I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this."
--Thomas J. Grasso, died March 20, 1995 -- Executed by injection, Oklahoma

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Police make arrests in killings of five Newark boys from 31 years ago

Murder is always grim. Mass murder far more grim. As bad as you may think things can get, there always seems to be a topper that comes along to shake the human spirit. This is certainly one of those cases if what Essex County prosecutors are alleging happened, really did.

In 1978 five boys who were playing together went missing. Simply missing. Never heard from again. FIVE. It is not uncommon in America for a person to go missing and never be heard from again. Many times it's foul play, in a rare occasion the person simply wants to try to vanish. But to have five boys go missing with no trace is certainly shocking. Now police officials off the record have told the Star-Ledger that the five boys were led into an abandoned house on Camden Street in Newark, locked inside and the house burned to the ground. Police also aren't saying exactly how this case was brought to the point of charging two men but that will no doubt come out in the filings in the case.

The Star-Ledger continues:

The boys, Melvin Pittman and Ernest Taylor, both 17, and Alvin Turner, Randy Johnson, and Michael McDowell, all 16, were last seen on a busy street near West Side Park, where they had played basketball, on Aug. 20, 1978.

We're glad arrests have been made. We'll be happier yet with convictions. Hopefully the remaining members of these boys' family can now find some peace. A lesson here is that cold cases are being solved with far more frequency. Johnny caught up on a cold case he had been following, that of Eileen Adams out of Sylvania Ohio (next to Toledo) who was long thought to be one of serial killer John Norman Collins' victims but was actually murdered by Robert Bowman and who is JUST going to trial for the 1967 murder currently. Despite what some murderers may think, cold case technology is rapidly advancing and one can never truly think they have gotten away with murder ironically until they themselves go to meet their maker.

Late night open thread

If today is your birthday you share it with Academy Award winning actress Reese Witherspoon. Johnny's sometimes pretend girlfriend was born in 1976.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Flood watch in effect for Hudson County

From 4 pm until tomorrow afternoon there is a flood watch for Hudson County and anywhere water runs rampant. There is like a flood warning every week out here making Johnny wonder if he's moved to the Bible when he came out here.

Late night open thread

Turtle soup


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

We'd like to welcome the New Jersey Red Bulls to their new home stadium

And what an impressive locale it is. Johnny took the PATH out to Newark last night for the Devils game but on that train were hundreds of soccer fans very excited to see a game at the new digs. Harrison's stop on the PATH line just got a whole lot more use. It's a beautiful stadium from the outside, sitting right on the Passaic River.

Which again brings us to the point of the names of the these teams. Why is it the New York Red Bulls, along with the New York Jets and New York Giants that when they need a home show up in New Jersey? The Giants and Jets did it long ago and have just done it again. Does the Passaic River run through New York in any way shape or form? The official mailing addresses of the Jets and Giants is in which state?

We here in New Jersey are proud to have these teams here. We're proud so much New Jersey labor went into these stadiums. We're grimacing over the tax abatements New Jersey people sacrifice for all the while the teams insist on being called 'New York'.

Screw that. You watch, when they are done stealing the Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn for the Nets and their new Russian owner, you watch, they'll call them the NY Nets. And the moment they do, even more stridently it would seem, the Jets and Giants and Red Bulls will get the New Jersey name slapped on them more and more. Johnny already refers to the Jets and G-Men as being from New Jersey. Know why?

Because they're from here.

Late night open thread

Good time out in Newark tonight, exciting Devils game albeit a loss. Some fans don't appreciate a 1-0 game, Johnny does.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Do you love those scary, gory, nutty zombie movies? Your king is in Jersey City--George Romero at Loews today!

That's right, horror king George Romero, the man who started it all with 'Night of the Living Dead' and gave us that damned overacting nurse in 'Dawn of the Dead' will be in a panel discussion along with other horror actors and aficionado's at the grand Loew's Theater in Journal Square as part of an all-weekend long groovy ghoulies movie-fest, including a costume contest tomorrow.

Follow this link for the entire schedule but here is the skinny on the panel discussion:

At 6:30 p.m., the ultimate zombie panel discussion will feature Romero, Foree, and other horror movie actors, including Tom Savini ("Dawn of the Dead," "From Dusk Till Dawn"), Scott Reiniger (both "Dawn of the Dead" movies), Gaylen Ross ("Dawn of the Dead<" "CreepShow"), John Amplas ("Day of the Dead," "Dawn of the Dead"), and Barbeau ("The Fog," "CreepShow") .

You can't do any better than this around Journal Square, hanging out with zombies and zombie creators all while enjoying it in one of Jersey City's crown jewels, the Loew's Theater in Journal Square.

Late night open thread

Johnny took the camera over to the Grove Street Square tonight to check out the goings on on a gorgeous Jersey City evening. He took this shot then horsed around with it in Photoshop until he made some right fine art.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with SUPERTRAMP!

One of the absolute best album covers EVER. You kids may not know this but that used to be a pretty big deal. Anybody wanna share their idea of a great album cover?

Here's Supertramp with 'Breakfast in America' while you think on it.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE POGUES!

We enjoyed the Pogues here on St. Patrick's Day so here they are again.

The Pogues with Lorca's Novena. The story of Spanish poet Federico Lorca murdered by Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War. It's also beautifully melded into Grosse Pointe Blank when Martin Blank finally opens the dossier on his Detroit hit.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with BUDDY HOLLY!

Buddy Holly wraps things up tonight with 'Not Fade Away'

It will be far too nice a day to be inside the JCD offices

So the staff will be, um, off working on, like, you know, important outside interviews and stories that affect you the JCD reader. Suuuuuure we are. We'll see you back tonight for the music series.

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Who knew people hanging outside Crown Chicken in the wee hours of the morning could be so uncooperative?

A woman hanging out near the Crown Chicken (And since they did nothing wrong in all of this lest we denigrate a fine business let us tell you the consumer how choice you would look in a Crown Chicken t-shirt or other fine Crown Chicken apparel) on Crescent near Communipaw was very uncooperative with the Jersey City po-po after apparently springing a leak. She said she was just standing outside minding her own business when a fight broke out which according to her she did not participate in, and when she walked away she noticed blood dripping from her leg. That sounds like a leaky leg to us. Better get that looked at.

Your honor, I didn't realize I was breaking the law until I saw myself on tape doing it

Pull this one, it plays jingle bells...

La Vern Webb-Washington come on down, you're the next convict in Jersey City Cash Grab with your host Solomon Dwek. Washington who lost in the Ward F election last year was sentenced to a year and a day in the pokey for accepting dirty money from Dwek totaling $15,000.

Washington told Judge Jose Linares she didn't realize she was breaking the law until she saw herself on the FBI tapes taking money from Dwek.

Uh huh.

Judge Linares wasn't buying those magic beans either and tacked on the extra day so Washington would have to do some jail time instead of a sentence of one year which would have put her in a halfway house.

Washington is the latest in a long line of Jersey City, Hoboken and Hudson County elected officials and elected official wannabes to be convicted or plead guilty. The FBI is batting a thousand on their cases which makes the holdouts like Mariano Vega all the more amusing because it doesn't take Nostradamus to see where these cases wind up.

Til then...

It is now upon us, the greatest 4 days in sports, the NCAA basketball tournament!

In all seriousness these four days always turn out to be uber exciting, and if there are no games on you still have NHL and NBA games on later. Johnny wants to give one more shout out to Michigan State and say Go Sparty and good luck to all the Big Ten teams and a big GO LEHIGH!

Johnny's brackets

OK, this one is a little strange--Secaucus man arrested for peeing on Jersey City females

No, this has nothing to do with Steve Lipski. It has everything to do with an asshat named Nitinkuma A. Patel who would actually follow women in the Journal Square area and walk up behind them and let loose actually peeing on their legs. Jersey City's finest have been staking out the Journal Square area for this idiot as he's been suspected in no less than SEVEN 'attacks'.

Wow, simply wow. We do have an idea for Mr. Patel once he gets done with the court system. Let's put a permanent ankle bracelet on him so we can tell where he is at all times. We'd also like to permanently attach a super strength dog shock collar, the kind used to keep dogs from barking, that police had the controller to and could just randomly push for fun and laughs. You know, "Hey Rutgers won today" Bzzzzzzzzt. "Sure is nice out" Bzzzzzzzzt "I heard Nidia Lopez is back at her home in Florida this month" Bzzzzzzzt.

Good GOD in all his days Johnny never imagined running a story like this.

Late night open thread

We'll end one fantastic St. Patrick's Day with a delicious clip we ran last year of Alison Krauss and The Chieftains performing the Irish lament 'Molly Ban' (Bawn).

Johnny liked this clip so much last year he went out and bought the CD on the iTunes digital marketplace.


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

U2 kicks off happy hour as this St. Patrick's Day party stumbles on

Coincidental thing about this song and the earlier Cranberries song 'Zombie'. Two very popular and famous song based on the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland.

Johnny sometimes doesn't give U2 enough credit. He'll pay for that sitting outside in the new Meadowlands in the blazing July sun when they play here.

Somebody should tell the band the venue is on fire.

Let's get traditional with The Clancy Brothers

With a favorite song by the owner here for obvious reasons.

The Clancy Brothers with 'Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye'

Another old favorite to kick off the lunch hour

The Dubliners and the Pogues with 'The Irish Rover'

A Jersey City Desk Editorial: NO GREEN BEER

We'd like to run a clip we ran last year discussing the ills of drinking green beer on St. Patrick's Day:

"...Johnny also knows people have a tendency to advertise or be taken in for advertising for GREEN BEER. Nobody should ever drink green beer. The Lords of Ireland would never ever condone such blasphemy. The land that gives us Guinness, Murphy's, Beamish, and Harp does not sell green beer. Johnny long ago gave up the drink, but he knows damn well those drinking green beer claiming to be Irish for the day profane Ireland."

And with that, and by request we bring you the two drunken guys spilling out of Conor O'Neill's in Ann Arbor two St. Patrick's Days ago, in 2008. This was around 1 pm in the afternoon so these lads got their drink on early. Note their fine form in landing in the handicapped spot. This picture has found it's way to German blogs in the past, it's kinda famous.

Click it for the big version

Lucky sez: "I want to be hearin' some Cranberries now..."

What Lucky wants, Lucky gets. Lucky also had some choice words for the British occupation of Northern Ireland we can't repeat. Oh we agree with him, we just can't repeat it.


The Cranberries with the very Irish song, 'Zombie'

We kick off St. Patrick's Day with Sinead O'Connor an the Chieftains

With the Irish standard 'The Foggy Dew'

Late night open thread

Make sure to drop by through the day tomorrow, we have a great St. Patrick's Day planned.

Time for Jersey City, AFter Dark

When hairstylists attack: Fired Hair Artist comes back to work wielding two machetes

Jersey City's own Albenis Pieters-Rosa was let go from his job at a Greenville beauty salon last night. Tough break, the economy blows. Instead of going to the unemployment office Pieters-Rosa swore revenge on the brother and sister who owned the salon. True to his word Pieters-Rosa showed up outside the salon this morning waving two machetes all Indiana Jones style and demanding the brother and sister come out so he could kill them. Well, being intelligent beings who enjoy life, they declined his kind offer to come outside and meet their ends and called police. Pieters-Rosa got bored and walked home with his machetes where he was arrested by Jersey City's finest and charged with making terroristic threats, weapons offenses and resisting arrest.

Rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper, and locked doors beat machetes. It's a law of physics.

The following crooks marched in the Jersey City St. Patrick's Day parade

Shame on Guy Catrillo, Michael Manzo and Philip J. Kenny, who all took dirty money from FBI informant Solomon Dwek and profaned the very spirit of the Jersey City St. Patrick's parade which was dedicated to the memory of Jersey City HERO Detective Marc DiNardo who lost his life protecting Jersey City residents from violent criminals last year. How dare these slimebags march with the parade dedicated to Mr. DiNardo. Chances are Marc DiNardo would have had no trouble arresting these lawbreakers and yet they felt the need to get out and be seen.

Maureen Hulings, vice chairwoman of the parade committee said she had no idea that Catrillo and Kenny planned to march. When asked why Manzo was allowed to march she said it would have been awkward to ask him not to since he'd worked on the parade committee previously. Hey, Maureen, grow a set and do what's right next time. You knew who the parade was dedicated to. Stand up and be counted or become part of the problem.

Late night open thread

In Monday Night Football tonight Cleveland put the smack down on the Bills with the final score at 38-21. It's amazing how well lit Cleveland Stadium is that Monday Night Football looks like it's actually being played in the day. Isn't science grand?


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

If you're Jersey City Council President Peter Brennan and you don't like certain bills, just kick them down the road six months

Why should business-as-usual supporter Peter Brennan have to hear ideas he doesn't like more than once every six months? Brennan is taking aim at the only real good city council member jersey City employs, Steve Fulop, by demanding any motions that don't pass cannot be brought up again for six months. Yeah Peter, who cares how pertinent these proposals could be. Who cares if the main body of the city council is simply acting obstructionist over new rules they don't want to live by, the city council here does that all the time.

Case in point, Fulop proposed, and rightfully so, that any city vehicle being paying for with taxpayer money be clearly marked as a city vehicle on city business. That's just not how Brennan and the other members of council want to be seen, they think they should keep the cars unmarked and unaccountable to the rest of us. Another case in point would be the fact Fulop wants some open government and wants Jersey City Council meetings on JCTV1, a way of keeping citizens informed. Brennan doesn't want that to happen either (Peter why show the people who vote for you what an obstructionist you really are?) and since the majority of the city council wants to protect their egregious behavior and votes as private as possible, some don't even want to hear about televised meetings for another six months when they can simply ashcan that idea too.

Peter Brennan, what REAL value do you serve on city council? What is it you really really do to help city residents? We'd love a physical tangible list of your accomplishments other than trying to block meetings from teevee or keep your city vehicle unmarked and on the sly.

You know how to reach us.

Late night open thread

Can you people find trash bins for your blown apart umbrellas? Johnny counted no less than 8 umbrellas just simply tossed away on the sidewalks. There are trash cans everywhere, use one.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

So, Glenn Beck thinks Bruce Springsteen's song 'Born in the USA' is unpatriotic

Johnny doesn't normally get the chance to speak out on national events nor politics in general. He tries to stay pretty middle of the road. This however cuts a bit close to home here for us. First off, Mr. NYC Crybaby Glenn Beck, do us all a favor and STFU. Does a song called 'Born in the USA' HAVE to be patriotic? Did you think to tell Ronald Reagan who wanted to use the song in his 1984 Presidential campaign it wasn't patriotic enough for you or were you still in your cocaine and booze fueled haze back then? For those who may not know the true meaning of the song it's about a soldier returning from Vietnam disillusioned with what he finds when he comes back and cannot find a job. Gee, that never happened did it Glenn? Maybe only a few thousand times. God forbid an artist would make social commentary on what he sees going on around him, I mean it's almost what artists do. Anyways Beck, who the hell are YOU to start whining about it? You have a radio and teevee show which allows YOU to make social commentary and you're not even an artist (nor all that well informed apparently). You made over $14 million dollars last year so feel free to drop the everyman routine. You no more speak for the masses than Johnny does.

We probably would have even skipped this little embarrassing incident for Beck-o if he also this week hadn't DEMANDED certain people LEAVE their churches. Yes, he did. He feels he and he alone is the one able to tell you that your church is no good (So much for freedom of religion eh Glenn?). What kind of brownshirt egomaniac tells people their church is not acceptable? You wanna hear something really unpatriotic and unAmerican?

"I beg you look for the words social justice or economic justice on your church Web site," he said. "If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words. ... Am I advising people to leave their church? Yes! If you have a priest that is pushing social justice, go find another parish," he said. "Go alert your bishop and tell them, 'Excuse me, are you down with this whole social justice thing?' If it's my church, I'm alerting the church authorities: 'Excuse me, what's this social justice thing?' And if they say, 'Yeah, we're all in on this social justice thing,' I am in the wrong place." -- Glenn Beck

Stunning in it's stupidity isn't it? One of the tenets of America, the freedom of religion, upsets Beck because he thinks HE and HE ALONE can tell you what is appropriate worship. This is so far out of bounds it's stultifying. So not only does Beck think he gets to tell everyone which music is good for America and what isn't, he also gets to tell people this house of worship is unacceptable. What a fracking disgrace.

God forbid your church would consider helping the less fortunate and looking out for the weakest of society, kinda like Jesus used to do. Glenn Beck thinks he knows better than Jesus apparently. Now, Johnny isn't religious in the least and doesn't believe in God but realizes many of you do and that's GREAT. Isn't freedom to help the less fortunate and writing songs about social injustice a part of the American fabric? We think so and we also think Glenn Beck has lost touch with real American values.

And anybody who might be tempted to show up here after incessantly Googling their idol Glenn Beck's name to hassle LIBRUL writers would do well to read a LOT of the posts on this site that also trash dozens of Democrats before opening their pie holes.

Late night open thread

There is now an ark accepting boarding passes at the corner of Marin and Christopher Columbus this evening. Please board safely.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Set your clocks ahead one hour tonight at 2 AM

Daylight Savings time begins tonight at 2 am. Set clocks forward and according to the battery lobby change the batteries in your smoke alarms, handheld gaming systems and adult accoutrements. After you make sure you are on time tomorrow for your fire and brimstone churchin', on Monday be on the lookout for sleepy drivers. One of Johnny's favorite reads, the journal Sleep Medicine, says there is an increase in auto accidents the Monday morning after Daylight Savings Time kicks in.

Might we suggest an extra helping?

Quite a few New York City taxi drivers have been taking us for a ride....monetarily

The town with all the big buildings, subways stops and great food has an issue they're probably not crazy about people like us telling you, the NYC taxi pool has been overcharging passengers by $8.3 million over the past two years by setting their meters at a rate that was supposed to be used for trips to the suburbs.

Isn't that kind of them? We're sure none of these cabbies ever told riders they were setting the fare at the higher rate which makes this an el grande ripoff. According to our good friends at the Associated Press:

The city has about 48,300 licensed cabbies, and data shows that 35,558 have illegally charged a rider at least once, the city said.

Super, that's soooo very nice of these slimy bastards. The city has taken one step to rectify this problem and it seems like a good one, now when you get in the NYC taxi and the Taxi TV comes on in the back it will alert passengers; In a few weeks, taxi riders will see an alert on the television screen in the back seat when the higher rate code has been activated.

Mayor Bloomberg is promising hefty fines and other penalties for the over 35,558 offending drivers who pulled this scam. The average overcharge to passengers was $4.45 per trip.

Late night open thread

Holy Man is it coming down to beat the band. This is some rainstorm.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS!

OK, you know Johnny never takes ad money or steers you to ads to feed that online monster that swallows all in it's path. In the spirit of the new Alice in Wonderland movie we're going to run one of the ten best videos ever made, the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers video for 'Don't Come Around Here No More'. It needs to be seen in high definition and there may be a short ad you'll sit through to get to the video. We suppose it'll be OK this one time for the quality of the art.

Johnny could tell you about the first time her ever saw this video but it's a long story and he'd have to admit to some lawbreaking in both the United States and Canada but if you ever bump into him feel free to ask.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with PAUL SIMON!

'50 Ways to Leave Your Lover', a terrific song from way back in the day but honestly Johnny only thinks he lists 20 or 25 actual ways to leave your lover. Sing along at home.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with NO DOUBT!

Gwen Stefani as one sexy black widow in this video remake of the Talk Talk song.

Fine looking weekend on tap, if you're a duck

2-4 inches of rain are expected over the Jersey City Desk reading area, with some areas getting close to 5 inches of rain. But what's a deluge of rain without high winds? Yep, winds in the range of 25-30 mph with guts up to 45 mph are probable and there is a flood warning in effect until Sunday afternoon. As always if your streets are flooded and it's difficult to get around head to city hall where you can pick up free canoes under Mayor Healy's 'free canoes when it floods bad' program.

You may have heard from the powers-that-be in Hoboken their St. Patrick's revelry was well contained this year--you heard WRONG

The reports from city officials in Hoboken last weekend was that everything surrounding their annual drink off aka the St. Patrick's Day parade was demure and well behaved. Think again. In fact, Hoboken broke last year's totals of summonses handed out for bad behavior. The Hoboken PD along with the Hudson County sheriff's office handed out some 555 summonses, only 5 short of the 2007 record of 560 and an increase from 476 in 2008. According to the Jersey Journal the numbers break out like this:

The city’s heightened zero tolerance policy this year raised the maximum fine amount to $2,000. The bulk of the violations came from open container (154), jaywalking (85), drinking in the street (77), disorderly house parties (51) and public urination (41). There were 25 arrests and 727 calls for service, according to the mayor's office.

For all the complaining the city powers-that-be in Hoboken complain about the cost and the other issues you do the math. $2000 tickets at the top end of the scale and other very expensive tickets multiplied by 555 makes this a pretty good cash cow for Hoboken.

"We hate the troubles that come with this parade and day in general........When do we get paid?"

Late night open thread

Tonight before bed, a clip from Charlie Chaplin's 'The Lion's Cage'. A classic and exactly the kind of high brow humor you've come to expect here.


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Why is there a huge pile of phone books in the Jersey City Desk lobby?

Who uses these dinosaurs anymore? Are phone books not a thing of the past yet? Think of the waste these things are creating. Nobody has touched the pile in the lobby, nobody is going to touch the pile in the lobby so off to recycle (we hope) or into the landfill they go.

What's the point of giving these things out anymore?

Late night open thread

State trivia night:

The largest underground gold mine is located in this state. Answer HERE.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Required reading on a Wednesday

*Despite almost everyone in the free world knowing it's Larry Silverstein holding up the new World Trade Center development, Mayor Bloomberg is still backing his slappy and thus fighting progress.

*A driver managed to drive his car through a fence and rolled it over on the PATH tracks near Tonnele near Journal Square, delays continue.

*Disgraced Bayonne Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone continues to live in his own dream world where he did nothing wrong this time asking Mercer County Superior Court to throw out charges he and his wife stole money from aides.

Late night open thread

Stupid people elsewhere night:

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Authorities in North Carolina say a store owner and a patron thwarted a teen accused of trying to carry out a robbery by concealing a banana beneath his shirt to resemble a gun.

Winston-Salem authorities say 17-year-old John Szwalla entered the Internet cafe Thursday and demanded money, saying he had a gun.

The owner, Bobby Ray Mabe, said he and a customer jumped Szwalla, holding him until deputies arrived. While they waited, Mabe says the teen ate the banana.

Mabe says deputies took pictures of the peel. Forsyth County Sheriff's office spokesman Maj. Brad Stanley says deputies joked about charging Szwalla with destroying evidence.

Szwalla faces a charge of attempted armed robbery. Jail officials say he doesn't have an attorney.


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Another fine Spring-like day of 60º? Well then...

Jersey City does not need full time city council members at full time pay

Ward F councilwoman Viola Richardson is proposing that city council positions become full time jobs here in Jersey City. Her proposal would take effect in 2013 and if passed by the council would bump the pay grade up damn near 70K a year.

Why would we as a city need this? The city council will never agree to give up their other jobs on the gravytrain (Richardson already hauls in 90K a year as program monitor for the county jail, Bill Gaughan is chief of staff for County Executive Tom DeGise and makes almost 126K) so why should we reward them with pay for two full time jobs we the taxpayers of Hudson County and Jersey City will end up paying for?

Steve Fulop, who has an interest in full time city council members PROVIDED they give up other city and county civil jobs told Richardson this at last night's meeting:

"I think is being out of touch a little bit with what's going on."

Her response?

"Don't tell me it's out of touch, it's for 2013."

What the hell does that mean? It's not out of touch because this idiocy is proposed for 2013? Sorry Viola, once again you make no sense.

Now, we've had our fair share of fun with Mayor Jerramiah Healy but on this topic, he's right. His office said not only does the city not have the resources to pay the extra roughly 500K in salary but in making the city council positions full time is would preclude those with full time jobs from serving, every citizen's right. Well said Mr. Healy.

Richardson's plan fails on three fronts, citizen participation, funding, and the fact she and others will non commit to giving up taxpayer funded jobs they already have.

It also sounds like somebody wants their job to turn full time before the state of New Jersey cuts the pension money for part time government employees.

Late night open thread

In Kentucky, it's the law that a person must take a bath once a year.

Ya don't say.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Johnny just had a wonderful walk through our fair city

And you can feel Spring in the air and it was quite apparent that people were getting in the Spring mood as everyone seemed to be in a good mood except for the one guy with the brushcut and the 3/4 length leather (pleather) coat who was acting all angry and yelling at his imagined demons walking west up Newark Ave.

Jersey City, Spring looks good on you...

Late night open thread

Notable quotes night:

“Just cause you got the monkey off your back doesn't mean the circus has left town.”
--George Carlin

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Let's actually discuss movies and films you think got pimped on the Best Picture Award

OK, there are two GLARING mistakes the Academy has made in Johnny's eyes (Actually three but we'll get to that).

Which movies do YOU think got the shaft? Anything you're still mad about?

Here's Johnny's short list; In 1979 the Academy must have gone on a three day bender and the male voters must have had a bad case of Meryl Streep love when they somehow managed to give the Best Picture award to Kramer vs. Kramer over the Hollywood epic Apocalypse Now. How did this happen? Anyone? Anyone? Apocalypse Now has become so iconic people quote it, you can't hear Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkries' without thinking about it. It's battle scenes are almost unmatched. Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Laurence Fishburne and Harrison Ford lost to Kramer vs Kramer. Uh huh.

Johnny's other peeve is 1996 when The English Patient beat the Coen Brothers classic Fargo. Just think about that for a minute. Heinous.

Johnny's third and lesser complaint is that the Lord of the Rings trilogy didn't win more awards. The Academy seemed to still hold fantasy films at arms length until they realized if Return of the King didn't win they stood to lose all credibility. Tonight the favorite again is a fantasy film, James Cameron's Avatar. The Rings trilogy made getting backing for these other fantasy films so much easier.

A celebration of film today

And we'll kick it off with the 1961 winner of Best Picture, the New York love story 'West Side Story'.


It seems in 1961 gang members would hold dance offs over turf with the occasion knife. We like this stylized form of turf war better than drive by shootings.

Once again, Councilman Steve Fulop shows his value to our fair city

The one city councilman Jersey City can trust right now is working to try and improve the quality of life here while the others look to enrich their own bank accounts. Fulop is working to bring Google to Jersey City and encouraging city residents to log into Facebook and vote for our fair city to become one of the new Google test sites for an ultra high-speed broadband network.

Fulop wants enough support to come forward to ensure Google chooses Jersey City so they will put in fiber optics lines throughout the city making internet speeds much much much faster than those of Verizon FIOS or Comcast or AT&T offer. Comcast as some of you may have read throttles speed of users uploads and downloads and have themselves said that unlimited internet is not intended to be unlimited. Fulop said to show support to login to your Facebook account and enter the search term 'Google competition Jersey City.'

Thank you Steve Fulop, once again we get value out of your office.

Late night open thread

Academy Awards tomorrow night. Here's a short clip from the 1973 Best Picture Academy Award winner The Sting.


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Let's talk breakfast, the most important meal of the day

So, Hudson County is blessed with not one but two ultimate pancake/breakfast places. The venerable Brownstone Diner and Pancake Factory here in Jersey City (home to crooked politician payoffs over eggs and snausages) and the new Stacks of Pancake House and Cafe in Hoboken. The newcomer in the Mile Square City promises a more expanded menu soon and will add gluten free pancakes soon. We've gotta say we still like the selection at the Brownstone just a tad better which is to be expected. Johnny's gonna have to hit the Stacks of Pancake House and Cafe ASAP before passing taste verdicts.

So tell us dear reader, where is your favorite place to eat breakfast out? What makes it your favorite? What constitutes the perfect breakfast out?

Late night open thread

Anybody else notice the new blue glow atop the Trump Plaza tonight? The building design itself is a crime against mankind but the blueish/purple color, which will now be referred to as 'blurple', looked pretty cool. Another gem in the Jersey City skyline crown. We'd still love it if Merrill Lynch would leave their tower lit up past 12:05 am each morning. It looks great out Johnny's living room windows.

In fact, we're moved to song. "Wrapped like candy in a blue blue neon glow, fade away and radiate..."


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with MANFRED MANN!

We kick off 70's AM Gold night with Manfred Mann and the 1975 platter that matters 'Blinded by the Light'. Johnny is well aware of who wrote this.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with AMERICA!

70's AM Gold night rolls on with America and the 1975 chart topper 'Sister Golden Hair'.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with ROCKY BURNETTE!

We wrap up 70's AM Gold night with the 1979 release by Rocky Burnette 'Tied of Toein' the Line'.

The giant Space Cat head with laser eyes attacked a group of Goldman Sachs employees last night

The giant Space Cat head with laser eyes that has menaced the Hudson and Essex County areas (oddly since Johnny moved here from Michigan) struck again late last night, around 11pm, suddenly rising up off the western bank of the Hudson River attacking several employees of Goldman Sachs heading to Exchange Place.

"We were just dumbfounded at first seeing a giant cat head floating around, I mean who wouldn't be? Then it started shooting at us with it's laser eyes and I just ran" said Julie Evans. "I moved here to get away from sudden unannounced attacks and now this" said Parminder Salim.

Jersey City police would only say several areas along the riverwalk were scorched and a couple benches destroyed. They would not say for certain if it was even a giant cat head with laser eyes; police spokeswoman Kelly Myers said "Who knows, maybe it was a runaway Toyota that took out those benches, we just aren't releasing anymore information at this time".

Witnesses said the cat head then darted towards the New York City side of the river.

(File footage)

Late night open thread

If your birthday is today, you share it with famed Notre Dame head football coach Knute Rockne. He'd be 122 today.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

A fish rots from the head down

Soon to be Education Commissioner (and former Jersey City mayor) Bret Schundler has told Jersey City's CREATE Charter School it's closing. Not because of funding cuts, but because of poor performance on standardized and other testing. In Schundler's letter to the school telling it of it's closing, he noted these sad statistics:

4.8 percent of the school's senior class was proficient in Language Arts last year and only 2.7 percent was proficient in math.

Schundler knows a little something about charter schools as he founded the Golden Door Charter School. In looking deeper at the facts in this case, we see one apparent big problem. The CREATE Charter School is run by former disgraced Jersey City councilman Steve Lipski, yes, he of the drinking problems and he of the urinating on people's heads at a concert in Washington D.C.

Geez, with leadership like Lipski's behind it it's no wonder the CREATE school has failed it's students.

Late night open thread

Music from the islands til dawn on a rainy March night on WJCD.


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Police video shows some John Q. Lawmen trying to capture a coyote over in Chelsea

Wile E. Coyote did manage to finally evade capture at 12th Ave and 24th and FOX News reports he was last seen up around 50th St.

Check out the video (And there is some rough policeman type language) of the 'chase' here.

Well, we've had friends driving LIRR trains, kids driving MTA Subway trains so why not children landing planes at JFK?

What could possibly go wrong? Now before we freak anybody out, the kid is well coached by no doubt a parent but how would YOU feel if you were able to hear what the captains of the flights heard recently coming into and going out of JFK? Did Johnny miss 'bring your kids to work and day and let them run the air traffic controls at one of this county's largest airports with one of the busiest air traffic volumes'?

Have a listen and tell us your thoughts.

Late night open thread

Music from the border towns til dawn on a rainy March night on WJCD.


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Hoboken is going to try some radical thinking after last year's St. Patrick's Day debacle

Hoboken last year became the national poster child for too much green beer as many of you will recall. Johnny certainly got a lot of copy ink out of it. Now, in order to curtail the out of hand drunken mouth breathers (And good people of Hoboken we are not calling you mouthbreathers, just the drunken louts who ruin it for everyone. We have a mouthbreather of a mayor here in Jersey City, so we're even) the Mile Square City is going allow......... the bars to open four hours earlier.

We'll repeat that. The City of Hoboken will allow bars to open at 9 am instead of 1 pm last year. Johnny is loading up the Jersey City Desk Action News Truckasaurus on March 17th and we are gonna bring you every angle of the hot mess in Hoboken.

As a website that lives to comment on bad ideas, we endorse this plan with all our being.

Boy, people from Virginia need to mind themselves while visiting Jersey City

Alonso N. Shipp II of Richmond Virginia is a real jagoff and no longer welcome here. Ship not only punched a woman but said this while he did: "I hate these Jersey bi-----". Nice, you kiss your mother with that mouth Alonso?

You can read about Shipp's disgraceful trip to Jersey City, here

Late night open thread

Today was a great day. Johnny got to wander around TriBeCa quite a bit and found out you CAN get some excellent grits for breakfast in Gotham. Try Bubby's at 120 Hudson if you're a grits fan. Damn fine bacon too.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

If you're going to drink your lunch, may we suggest the Raccoon Lodge in scenic TriBeCa?

If it's after noon, it's time for Raccoon

A billboard in Newark is raising quite a kerfuffle

Johnny's got some foodie business in NYC this morning and afternoon so you'll have to give us your opinion on this story, one of civic decency or clever advertising out in Newark. Only you can tell us for sure...

Late night open thread

What an incredible hockey game today. A game well worthy of it's gold medal prize. Full marks to Canada for winning, joining only the USA as teams to win gold on home soil. Never though has a silver medal been so rewarding. Johnny's not a touchy feely everybody wins when everybody plays kind of guy. He's a fierce sports competitor in the old school mold. Coming in to the games with no medal expectations and to take Canada to overtime in the gold medal game, this after beating them a week before, USA Hockey closed the gap immeasurably between themselves and Canada and Russia. A case could now be made a game between the USA and Canada is a tossup.

Gary Bettman, get your head out of your ass, quit the Napoleon thing and understand with NHL players the Olympic men's hockey tournament rivals the NCAA basketball tournament for excitement. Why? The great thing about the NCAA tourney is that any one of say 8 teams can win it. With the NHL players there are six teams who can win it (USA, Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden and the Czech Republic) and a seventh (Slovakia) who can medal. Germany and Switzerland made huge improvements to their games from 2006. Gary, you HAVE to let the NHL players keep playing. If you have a worry about exposure ask your business partner to show the games in high def on the flagship NBC station like today. It's nice the earlier games were on MSNBC and CNBC but the USA and Canada games should always be live on the big network.

Being a Michigan State fan Johnny had always been a big Ryan Miller fan but it was enjoyable to cheer for and appreciate the talents of the Devils Zach Parise and Jamie Langenbrunner and the Rangers Ryan Callahan. Brian Rafalski you just keep playing like that for the Red Wings the rest of the year. Rafalski has been a godsend in Detroit (After all his cups here for the Devils) and it's nice he got to show off his qualities these last couple weeks.

A huge tip of the cap to team USA, they did us all proud. Herb Brooks is smiling.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark