Here we go, get ready to pop those corks!!

And OF COURSE we'll see the new year in with our favorite cut, the Rolling Stones with the best live version of 'Gimme Shelter' evah! Rock on citizens and we'll catch you on the other side of midnight!

Can you feel the excitement? Times Square is full up with a million people...

And if they can access the Jersey City Desk from over there on a mobile phone or iPad we hope they'll be singing along to this classic, Depeche Mode with 'Policy of Truth'

Now here's a real toe-tapper to jazz up your New Year's Eve

Mike Ness from 1999 with 'Don't Think Twice'.

Joe Jackson as midnight draws closer

Boy the helicopters buzzing the Hudson River are at critical mass it sounds like. A little easy breezy song from Joe Jackson and 'Steppin' Out', which just has the look and feel of a New York City New Year's Eve.

As we move into a balmy afternoon let's keep the fun quotient high

And we'll entrust Nick Lowe's wicked little number 'Switchboard Susan' and all of the double entendres contained therein to do the job.

Stuff some more bacon in your face this morning, you can work it off with Jack White and Wanda Jackson

WOW, Wanda Jackson and Jack and Meg White. Two eras and three greats. 'Thunder on the Mountain' and we believe you'll need a little dancing room so grab more bacon citizen and make some space.

Don't forget you party nuggets, Hoboken celebrates New Year's Eve on Central Time this year

So DO plan accordingly. Oh these quirky little things they try that make them Hoboken. The big toast in the Mile Square city comes at 1 am, not midnight...

Be ye warned...

New Year's Eve kicks off this year with Gorillaz!

Now with 40% more Mick Jones and Paul Simonon. An amazing cut (Whatever Lake Superior State University -- home of the fighting Trixie Action Space Punks -- telling us the word amazing is out) by an amazing band during their AOL Sessions.

Where's north from here?

Gorillaz with 'Glitter Freeze'

Late night open thread

No music series tonight as tomorrow we ring out 2011 and ring in 2012 with music galore in our special New Year's Eve day of fun and frolic.

Big win for Rutgers today over Iowa St. The Scarlet Knights' fifth straight bowl win. The kids in Piscataway have had a good 48 hours.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Rutgers football gameday!

Making the pivot from Rutgers hoops to Rutgers pigskin, the Scarlet Knights play in the Pin Stripe Bowl at 3:30 at Yankee Stadium vs. Iowa State. It what should be considered a good season in Piscataway (good but not great) Greg Schiano's charges can put a nice bow on a nice season with a win over the Cyclones. Iowa State won't be a pushover, having upset Oklahoma State in Ames Iowa this season, but Rutgers should still roll today.

A few questions now arise here at the end of the 2011 season. Will QB Tom Savage rejoin the team next season? Will Mohamed Sanu return? Sanu was a unanimous first-team Big East selection after setting a school and conference record with 109 receptions. He had 1,144 yards and seven touchdowns, both second-most in the league. He'd be horribly missed.

So, Rutgers returns to the bowl world after a disappointing 4-8 campaign last season. Here's hoping they can beat a battle tested Cyclones team over at the house Jeter built.

Fearless Forecast:
Rutgers 27
Iowa State 20

How about Rutgers basketball last night?

How long has it been since the Rutgers men have had such a huge win at the RAC (or anywhere for that matter?). The Rutgers men, behind 31 points from super freshman Eli Carter dropped #10 Florida in double overtime last night. The Scarlet Knights answered every question posed to them against a team ready-made to win close games like this. Head coach Mike Rice has to be pleased by this win, it's one of those you work on and try to be ready when the opportunity to beat a higher ranked team comes along.

Rutgers sure passed this final exam.

The Jersey City Desk has learned....

That thousands, tens if not hundreds of thousands of #OWS aka Occupy Wall St. protestors will gather tomorrow night in Times Square to make their point by ringing in the new year at midnight under the ball. No word from the Office of Whitewash over at City Hall but no doubt this news will have angered Mayor Bloomberg when it reaches his billion dollar desk. Be prepared to have to celebrate 2012 among pepper-sprayed residents and visitors, and truncheoned bystanders.

Arrive early, and bring your gas mask as Times Square on New Years Eve is fun for the whole family...

Late night open thread

"Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account."
--Oscar Wilde

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

We wonder, what would a 60% off shoes sale at Saks look like?

You know, if say cameras were allowed inside Saks for the Boxing Day (Dec. 26th) sale? Oh hey, we needn't wonder anymore.

Let the carnage begin...

Late night open thread

In England middle names were once illegal. Now you know.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Ruh ro, the Southern Baptists think we're a godless lot and they are coming to save us

You see, the more traditional black Baptist churches aren't enough according to The Baptists' North American Mission Board. The NYC area needs some white Baptist churches and they are willing to spend some $20 million dollars to take over existing churches and spread that Book of Mormon kind of religiosity. What the Southern Baptist group is doing is called "church planting" and it is being done with a focus on the NYC Area because according to the NAMB the NYC area "needs your help."

Johnny's first impression would be to lead these same Southern Baptists back to their Bibles, more specifically this verse:

Beware! Those who attempt to Prosthelytize in my name, but will not do as I do, are not of Father God. As I said to them, "ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets" (Matt. 23:30).

But since when has the Bible ever stopped a Christian from prosthelytizing? Christians (and any member of any religion really) should spend more time listening to atheists on these matters. Johnny finds in many cases atheists know as much if not more about the religions they discuss than many of the believers do.

Late night open thread

It was on this day in history that Radio City Music Hall opened in 1932. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and RCA funded and built this art deco masterpiece.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Ahhhh, that week between Christmas and New Year's

Which always affords Johnny a day of pure unadulterated online gaming......like now

Late night open thread

The Rangers took over the top spot in the Eastern Conference with a 3-0 victory over the bottom feeding Islanders tonight at MSG. Henrik Lundqvist is having a magnificent season thus far. The Broadway Blueshirts look like they are capable of winning the division but hey, it's early yet. Johnny is saving his pennies now for those playoff tickets.

The Devils seem to be shaking off the rust the last couple weeks and now sit seventh in the East after a 4-2 loss in Carolina tonight.

The Red Wings? Oh they won 4-1 in Nashville tonight.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

If it is OK with you dear readers...

We're going to continue to not care about David Stern and his NBA players association. Until the whole naming convention of New Jersey vs. New York comes up when the Nets bail we're just going to skip covering the NBA. In our opinion never has so much been written about so little.

Now hockey on the other hand...

Now that the wrapping paper and gift bags have been disposed of....

What'd ya get?

Late night open thread

We hope everyone had a fantastic day today and can carry the spirit of the day forward. At least another week.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a happy sixth day of Hanukkah to all our Jersey City Desk readers. Have a wonderful peaceful day!

Late night open thread

Here is a holiday classic in the Space Punk household. It's an utterly perfect essay on the difference between the North American Santa Claus and the European St. Nicholas by David Sedaris. Gather the whole family around the computer make a cup of hot cocoa or splash some rum in your egg nog, this is a MUST hear.


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

No Christmas Eve is complete without some Keef

Keith Richards with his masterful cover of the Chuck Berry song Run Rudolph Run. This song has been redone by no less than 20 other artists...

In the immortal words of Chris Kattan, "Sting all the way!"

Sting with 'Gabriel's Message'

Christmas Eve rolls on...

Here's Sheryl Crow with her breathy, funky version of 'Blue Christmas'

The Christmas Eve fun kicks off with Elvis

Here we go Cool Yule thrillseekers, kicking off Christmas Eve 2011 with Elvis Presley singing 'Here Comes Santa Claus'

Jets and Giants football gameday!

And have we got a Santa Claus special this afternoon from the new Meadowlands, Jets V Giants, New Jersey V New Jersey, Ryan V Coughlin and the team with the Santa looking head coach aren't lacking confidence coming into today.

Rex Ryan, who never met a microphone he didn't like, has been claiming this week is about the Jets "winning" New York. We'd say that even if the Jets win today and miss the playoffs in the AFC, a win today wouldn't mean Jack Squat...

First things first, if Mark Sanchez is feeling the effects of whatever head and or neck and or concussion that caused him to sit on the sidelines with a towel over his head to keep the bright lights out of his eyes last week this could get ugly for Gang Green. Both teams desperately need a win but the Giants are just about mathematically eliminated and will no doubt play with some desperation. It would seem each time the Giants have their backs to the wall they can come out with a strong effort especially from the front seven -- bad news for Mark Sanchez. While w're not sold on the local viewpoint being tossed around that Eli is an elite NFL QB he's still light years ahead of the Jets' 'Human Interception Machine'.

We KNOW the Giants can come out with a great defensive effort. We KNOW the Jets can too. What we don't know is if Sanchez has to come off at any point if Mark Brunell can do anything to move the Jets offense. We doubt it. If the Jets can gain momentum by running consistently it takes pressure off of Sanchez and puts it on the Big Blue secondary.

We can see the Jets winning this game. We can see the Giants winning this game. Rex Ryan has been talking....and talking....and his team is only 8-6. The Giants haven't said too much and are 7-7. Two teams enter, one team leaves, it's Christmas Eve Thunderdome in about an hour and our fearless forecast says:

New Jersey Giants 23
New Jersey Jets 21

Late night open thread

Back tomorrow night with a very special Christmas Eve music series. In the immortal words of the Go-Go Gophers "Whoo-pee-doo-pee, we have fun!"

Tomorrow's gonna be a ball. We even hear tell of a big football game at the new Meadowlands tomorrow afternoon...

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey 1 -- Steroid using cops 0

Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey did a good and proper thing. When he was tipped off that some of his officers were getting a LOT of steroids in a rather dubious way, from a doctor under investigation he did what a lot of company CEO's or HR directors would do, he made the cops pee in a cup.

Oh but the indignity from the cops involved, seven officers sued. How DARE Comey tell them that because they were suspected of using steroids they had to take the drug test. Wow guys, welcome to the REAL world. Know what, if that happens out here with us unwashed masses we get to pee in a cup and can be fired for the test results.

Comey, who was tipped to the steroid use by a New York City internal affairs captain, ordered his officers to undergo tests and put them on modified duty pending the results. Officers who had elevated levels of testosterone — a hallmark of steroid use — remained on desk duty until those levels returned to a normal range.

Thankfully the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia agreed with Police Chief Comey, police under him CAN legally be tested (like the rest of us at our jobs).

While we have a pretty positive view of the JCPD, these cops who sued need to wake up and smell the coffee. You were getting steroids in a system described as:

"...officers obtained prescriptions from a doctor who, authorities say, faked diagnoses in many cases to accommodate clients’ desires to get bigger and stronger. Some of the drugs were then sent by mail from a Brooklyn pharmacy investigators determined was little more than an illegal steroid mill."

Johnny would say someone with a prescription for medical marijuana from their personal doctor would be more on the up and up than these steroid clowns. But of course these same seven cops would most likely have no trouble arresting someone with a tiny amount of medical bud while overlooking their own legal drug issues, because after all, well they're cops and some think they are above the law they swear to uphold.

Good for Tom Comey for acting in the best interests of Jersey City.

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Joe Strummer Day continues with 'Police and Thieves'

It's Joe Strummer Day here at the Jersey City Desk

Celebrating the magnificent life and contribution to music by this incredible songwriter, performer and voice of a generation whom we lost far too soon nine years ago today...

Late night open thread

Well we were going to do something different tonight, until we saw this in the bullpen. Holy crap, this looks incredible but then again, what do you expect from Peter Jackson?


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Hey Hey, how about Rutgers' Eric LeGrand!?

He got the fan's choice cover on this week's Sports Illustrated!! LeGrand's recovery from a paralyzing injury last season vs Army and his brave fight back have captured the hearts of Americans and LeGrand even beat out Barcelona and Argentina soccer superstar Lionel Messi for the cover, a fact not lost on LeGrand:

"I beat out Messi in this, and when I get well, I'll beat him out on the pitch (soccer field)," said a smiling LeGrand during a press conference to announce his selection at the Hale Center on the Rutgers campus.

Know what? We hope Eric gets to one day keep that date on the pitch with Lionel Messi, so long as it's not playing for Real Madrid.

Go get 'em Eric!

Late night open thread

Happy First night of Hanukkah everyone. Marian Gaborik led the Broadway Blueshirts to a win in Newark tonight and oh yeah, this:


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

It's the Battle of the Hudson River tonight in Newark

Rangers v Devils. Both teams are playing improved hockey and it would seem the Rangers are living right winning a game against Phoenix last weekend with .01 seconds left.

So, who ya got?

Late night open thread

It was on this day in 1777 the Continental Army under General George Washington enters its winter camp at Valley Forge, 22 miles from British-occupied Philadelphia.

It's a really good thing they sent ahead for those space heaters or Valley Forge really could have been a problem for the Continentals.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Hey Hepcats and Hepkittens, looking to book a New Year's Eve party?

We're passing along this list of New Jersey New Year's Eve club events you may want to look into. Book early and don't get shut out of the fun. Jersey City, Hoboken, Atlantic City and other exotic locales await. Check out the list here.

Do NOT forget that Hoboken, in one of those crazy hipster things that makes them Hoboken, voted earlier this year to celebrate THIS New Year's Eve 2012 on Central Time meaning they'll be toasting at 1 am while everyone else around here is staying on good old Eastern Standard Time with toasts and smooches to follow at midnight.

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Jets and Giants football gameday!

Well pigskin fans, the Giants are about to kick off with the woeful Washington Redskins over at the new Meadowlands. Really, what can you say about this game that would lead anyone to think it will be A) close and B) exciting. Unless Tim Tebow was traded this week to the Skins they are doomed.

The Jets have a late tilt out on the left coast with San Diego. Know who Johnny doesn't like? That mouthy, bratty Philip Rivers. He sure chirps a lot for a guy who hasn't exactly lit the world on fire. Hopefully the Jets will shut his yapper and win their 4th straight.

Fearless Forecasts:

New Jersey Giants 34
Washington 14

New Jersey Jets 23
San Diego (Or Philadelphia) 20

Face palm

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Santa Con and Hoboken bar crawl all in one today?

Oh we think it's a fabulous idea. Johnny will be grabbing the PATH to Hoboken later to hopefully get video of when drunken Santas attack. A Santa bar crawl in Hoboken? Gentlemen and Gentlewomen, get your cameras.

Late night open thread

Chances of a white Christmas in New York City: 1 in 4.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with DAVE MATTHEWS BAND!

Get up outta that seat and get your swerve on with this catchy little number to start the party side of Friday night. Dave Matthews Band with 'Two Step'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with WILD CHERRY!

Bust out the bellbottoms, hair picks and lip gloss hep cats we're heading back to the 70's in the wayback machine tonight. What better way to celebrate that groovy decade than with the pride of Steubenville Ohio, Wild Cherry and the epic timepiece 'Play that Funky Music (White Boy)'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with DAVID BOWIE!

Johnny heard this song today and he harkened back to riding to school in his friend Roger's spotlessly maintained 1976 Buick Regal. Roger had an 8-track player and basically three 8-tracks; Changes One Bowie, Steve Miller's Fly Like an Eagle and Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here.

Harkening is a pretty good reason to play a song...

The Thin White Duke with 'Golden Years'

Scott Niedermayer will have his #27 retired by the Devils tonight

So if you're heading out to The Rock make sure to get there by 6 pm as the ceremony will begin shortly thereafter and you don't want to be the pantsload trying to get down the row to your seat spilling popcorn and beer on everyone while Mr. Niedermayer is speaking.

In a statement earlier to the media out at the Prudential Center Niedermayer said he was proud to be a Devil. As always the Jersey Journal has more on tonight's festivities...

The Devils will play the Dallas Stars after the ceremony. Say, didn't Dallas and New Jersey play an important game at some point?

What kind of a jackass steals an owl?

Really, what kind of goober would break into an bird rehabilitation center and steal an owl? One we hope is caught and kicked in the ass.

The Raptor Trust in Long Hill was broken into (actually cut into) and one of the many birds they are rehabbing, an Eastern Screech Owl, who was injured and is unable to fly, was stolen. Raptor Trust senior veterinary technician Cathy Malok said "I just hope the people who took him realize that this is the best place for him and that they bring him back safe."

The center has 80 aviaries. It rehabilitates about 3,500 birds and hosts 50,000 human visitors each year.

If you have any information on this theft please contact the Raptor Trust or the Morris County police.

Late night open thread

For the sake of all that is holy, David Villa get well soon. All of us 23 million Barcelona fans on Facebook wish you a speedy recovery from the broken leg. The soccer gods have forsaken us.


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

The Jersey City Desk would like to welcome Michele Massey the new Ward F councilwoman

Michele Massey was unanimously appointed last night to serve as Ward F councilwoman after Viola Richardson won an at-large council seat. Massey is a native Jersey City resident and runs the Monticello Avenue Main Street Program.

Welcome Michele.

Late night open thread

“Let's be naughty and save Santa the trip.”
--Gary Allan

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

It's a funny thing about campaign contributions -- Those who make them expect something for them

Unless it's someone's mom or relative who want to make a good-faith contribution because they really like their kid campaign contributions come with expectations from those who make them.

So Jersey City once again we head down the long, slow road of sleaze.

The FBI has been in touch with Jersey City Councilmen Peter Brennan and William Gaughan about brokerage services with Bergen County insurance broker Joseph Bigica whom the Jersey Journal calls a "prominent campaign contributor." When asked about Bigica Councilman Brennan had this to say:

"I don't really know the guy. I might see him once a year. All I know is he makes a lot of campaign contributions."

But yet he fills the coffers doesn't he Mr. Brennan? Do you have any other contributors you know of that simply just give a lot of money you have little to no contact with?

Again, campaign contributions come with strings. Like a no bid contract perhaps? It's been known to happen.

The Jersey City City Council in September 2010 unanimously awarded, without public bidding, a three-year brokerage contract to Frenkel & Co., a New York firm that has a consulting arrangement with Bigica, calling it "an extraordinary, unspecifyable service," according to The Record.

A NO BID Contract for a big campaign contributor? Certainly the Mayor's office is all over this and is mad as all get out. Oh wait, this is Gaughan and Brennan we're talking about.

Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said she had no idea why the no bid contract would be approved (uh huh) but it's OK in the end since the city saved 30 pieces of silver.

The FBI is snooping around City Hall, ah, just like old times here in Jersey City. Let's gather round the Christmas tree and Menorah in Grove Square sing the refrain from the Talking Heads song 'Once in a Lifetime'

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was....

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

It's been a hard few days of partying in Hoboken

And we've got the stories to prove it, must be something about that holiday FuHo smell that drives people to do bad things...

* A man threw a whiskey glass into a woman's face while making unwanted advances

* A man says he was assaulted by bouncers at a bar in Hoboken after throwing a napkin on one's face

* Two men dressed in Santa garb cut in line on the cab stand in Fuho and wound up assaulting a female passenger and tossing her purse over a fence

Love it or hate it why does NOBODY carry egg nog?

Why does Johnny have to schlep over to Shop Rite to get goddamned egg nog? Why doesn't Duane Reade or some of the smaller local food markets carry it? Damn Jersey City, you're letting Johnny down...

Late night open thread

Anyone else notice the lack of a national beating of breasts and wailing like banshees over the fact the Indianapolis Colts are a mere three games away from tying the Detroit Lions dubious 0-16 record? Boy howdy when the Lions got within six games of going winless the media acted like Tiger Woods was unfaithful with dozens of hussies or something. The Colts? Nobody cares. Go figure.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

So, how do you prefer to Christmas shop?

Do you seek out the hot boutiques for very indie type gifts? Do you still have a love/hate relationship with the malls? Do you do your shopping exclusively online?

Give us your best tips and practices on finding the perfect gifts...

Late night open thread

There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar. Try it sometime.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Jets and Giants football gameday!

What a GREAT Sunday we have here in the Tri-State and the surround for the Jets game at the new Meadowlands today against the Kansas City Chiefs. The sun is warm and the opportunities for the Jets are huge today. 8-5 is a MUST coming out of this game. Kansas City is an odd team, one which you never know what you'll get. Recently they played Pittsburgh tough before winning in Chicago. A loss for the Jets may mean they'll barely qualify for the playoffs if at all. They can't keep giving away games to teams like the Chiefs.

The Giants are 6-6 and one game behind the homestanding Cowboys whom they play tonight. Again, this is the kind of game that will define the Giants season. They are battling with Detroit and the Bears and Atlanta, all 7-5. Lose tonight in Dallas and the Giants are 6-7 and dancing to the Paul Simon song 'Slip Sliding Away'. Tom Coughlin needs to find the magic to get the Giants pass rush going and keep the Cowboys front seven from mashing Eli Manning into the turf. Eli CAN win games like this if he's vertical and his receivers are hanging onto the ball.

Fearless forecasts:

New Jersey Jets 24
Kansas City 13

New Jersey Giants 21
Dallas 20

Rutgers athletics are hemorrhaging money leading to a huge deficit

In these austere times we're living in to hear that an athletic program is losing money would not be entirely surprising. People do have less money to spend on a football or basketball game. Hell they're worried about food in the cupboard and immunizations for the children, not Greg Schiano's Scarlet Knight football squad, no matter how many gams they win.

Well, that point is being driven home in a great piece from the Star-Ledger this morning about the financial difficulties affecting the Rutgers athletic department brass about how much money Rutgers athletics is losing and how they have been putting up sandbags to staunch the bleeding but those sandbags are currently filled with student fees, tuition money (!?) and your tax dollars.

It's a great read on a troubling problem that is siphoning cash from your wallet sitting on your nightstand even as you look at it.

Late night open thread

Hey Real Madrid, meet the new boss, same as the old boss...


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

It's Hockey Afternoon in Newark®

Hockey Night in Canada comes later tonight. The Devils skate with the fly-by-night organization known as the Montreal Canadiens with the puck dropping at 1 pm at The Rock. It's a perfect day, afternoon hockey, maybe some drinks and grub in The Ironbound and back home in time for the 7 pm games. It's a little chilly but that's hockey weather bunky.

Les Habitants come in reeling losing 6 of 7 games. This is one of those games that the Devils are going to have pick up valuable points now so they don't have to go on a tear to try and make the playoffs like last year. Montreal has no powerplay to speak of which is why they traded for defenseman Tomas Kaberle. Kaberle may make his Montreal debut this afternoon after being traded by the Carolina Hurricanes. Who knew guys could play worse if they left Toronto? Kaberle is answering that rhetorical question this season.

Get on out to The Rock and have some funz. Bring your cameras to take a picture of Zach Parise so you can fondly recall his time in a Devils sweater.

Late night open thread

Tomorrow brings a Clasico from the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid as Barcelona (yeah!) takes on Real Madrid (boo hiss!). Goooooood watchin'.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with SMASHING PUMPKINS!

Johnny read once where Billy Corgan said this was the only real love song her ever wrote. It kicks off the music series this week. Smashing Pumpkins with 'Stand Inside Your Love'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with FRED WESLEY AND THE J.B.'S!

Earlier this year we played the J.B.'s with the short version of this song on the music series and sadly that link was lost to time. So tonight a fresh link and the utterly funkalicious long version of 'Doing it to Death'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with PETULA CLARK!

Earworm, Johnny can't get this song out of his head today. Maybe if it gets some airplay here tonight it will stop. Not that it's a bad song mind you, it's actually brilliant. Petula Clark with 'Downtown'

Mayor Healy would rather spend your money on protection at a fundraiser than his

Mayor Healy held a fundraiser the other night at Puccini's Restaurant while two on-duty Jersey City policemen stood guard outside. Now the mayor's minions are claiming that government official do get shot and we need only look at Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords to see this (albeit and isolated case we think). So then Mayor, since YOU are fundraising, and well since you haven't even announced you're running for re-election this is kind of a PRIVATE matter and in no way city related or tasked we sorta think the security detail should have been on YOUR dime. You're wasting our money so you can put money in your coffers for a race you may or may not run in? City Councilman Steve Fulop who IS running for Mayor in 2013 said this about the waste of taxpayer money:

“It is pathetic, as they know the city has a crime problem, and yet they take patrol officers from the busiest police district to watch over a political event,” Fulop said. “This is the type of judgment that explains why residents don’t feel safe”

Is this the biggest deal to ever hit this city? No. Does it show a complete lack of understanding on the Mayor's part about what everyone is going through financially? As per usual.

Just another day in HealyWorld®

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

It's been about a year, time for the MTA's inconvenient truth

As you'll recall, late last December this area had a whopper of a snowstorm. Legendary in fact. You'll also recall the utter ineptitude New York City responded with. Here in New Jersey there were problems yes but nothing like the hash the Big Appletini made of the blizzard. One story that stood out in helping explain the level of failure was that of the A Train stuck over by the Aqueduct and Rockaway Boulevard stations. Seven hours they sat. Waiting, not knowing, stuck inside. In a blizzard.

New York City Transit President Thomas Prendergast has looked over the reports of the past year, he's heard the experts and analyzed the data. He explained to a City Council hearing on winter preparedness what the data showed:

"We forgot about that train."

That answer is so Jeff Spicoli Johnny hears Ray Walston's voice as the timeless Mr. Hand in Fast Times at Ridgemont High "I Like that. That's nice. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to leave your words right up here for all my classes to enjoy, giving you full credit of course, Mr. Prendergast."

It won't happen again said Mr Eggonface as the MTA is now instituting 'Advocates' whose only job will be to care for the well-being of any stranded passengers. Kind of like a concierge when your train takes the ziggy. So problem solved and you can all go to sleep knowing a society of advocates have got your back.

Don't give them pepper spray.

Missing Jersey City resident Shannan Gilbert's personal effects found on Long Island

After searching for over a year for the whereabouts of Jersey City resident Shannan Gilbert, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said her pants, shoes and purse were found Tuesday and her cell phone was found Wednesday in a marshy area near where she disappeared. Gilbert's actions that night, running from an unknown threat set into motion the discovery of ten bodies near Oak Beach and Gilgo Beach on Long Island's south shores.

Dormer said it was the opinion of police there that Gilbert had somehow drowned in the marshy area but yet provided no proof she had.

Johnny, a researcher and cold case expert doesn't think Gilbert met the same fate as those others at the hand of this so-called Long Island serial killer. One reason is that the killer of victim Melissa Barthelemy used her cell phone from Times Square to call and taunt Barthelemy's little sister. We have a feeling if Ms. Gilbert's phone was found by this asshat he'd have begun calling Gilbert's family on it. It's one of his thrills. He thinks he's smarter than everyone else (which is why he called from Times Square as the cell tower ping would show up anywhere the call originated, what better place to blend in with cell talkers than Times Square. 10 minutes of watching CSI would teach you this so we doubt the superior intellect of this killer) and enjoys taunting from afar.

Unless of course he couldn't find Gilbert's phone, which we think is a good thing. Police no doubt are looking to see what, if any more calls or text messages were made on her phone after that fateful night of May 1, 2010.

Late night open thread

They've closed the bridges in Manchester England tonight as both Manchester City and Manchester United bombed out of the UEFA Champions League 2012 tournament this evening. Within minutes of each other. Those are bitter scones man.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

If you're looking for holiday arts and crafts we've got you covered

The artist/residence space at 150 Bay St. will be having an arts and crafts sale this upcoming Saturday December 10th. According to our friends at the Jersey City Independent the sale will feature:

The sale will feature work from Muriel Favaro, Robert Koch, Lynda D’Amico, Robert Kogge, Karen Fuchs, Pamela Mijal, Dolores Jansen, Julie Lomba, Keith VanPelt, Shawn Lang, Ann Giordano, and Eliza Neals. Work will include (but not be limited to) handmade t-shirts, photography, ceramics, jewelery, paintings, pottery, and custom hats.

So get out there and put a little holiday jingle in the pockets of these fine Jersey City artisans and craftspeople and pick up something nice for Christmas...

Late night open thread

Movie mistakes night...

In Kill Bill Volume 1, in the big restaurant fight scene, Uma Thurman's double can be spotted from time to time as she is shorter and a little heavier than Thurman. It is especially noticable during the silhouette sequence.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

NHL realignment has come -- The Devils have new playdates

The NHL Board of Governors has voted on realignment and now only the players union stands in the way of approval. With the failure of the Atlanta Thrashers franchise, who moved to Winnipeg this year the NHL was 'west heavy' with more teams located in the western areas than the east. The NHL could just have swapped Detroit for Winnipeg moving the Red Wings east but a new and different plan was approved. There will now be four conferences; The Atlantic, the Northeast, the Midwest and the Pacific and they break down like this:

Northeast Conference: Boston, Buffalo, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay and Toronto
Atlantic Conference: Devils, Rangers, Islanders, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Carolina and Washington
Midwest Conference: Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, Columbus, Nashville, Winnipeg, St. Louis and Minnesota
Pacific Conference: Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose and Vancouver

The top four teams in each new conference would make the playoffs first two rounds of the playoffs would be within your new conference. Word has it that after one team emerges from each conference they would be re-seeded by record and you'd have a final four situation.

It sounds like decades of pointing out they were the only serious playoff contender in the Eastern Time Zone playing on Pacific time pretty regularly in the playoffs from the Red Wings has paid off. Johnny's solution would simply have been to put Winnipeg in Detroit's old spot and move the Wings to Atlanta/Winnipeg's old spot in the Southeast Division but nobody asked him.

So Devils and Rangers and Isles fans, whadda ya think? Workable? Do you hate it? Spit it in comments...

Late night open thread

Foghorns on the river tonight and out in the harbor. Such a wonderful sound to have drift in your windows at night. Beats the hell out of car horns.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

This morning's heavy fog is supposed to burn off by 9 am

We shall see but until then commuters be careful out there. That is some thick fog. Did you know researchers have found that drivers, when driving in simulated heavy fog actually speed up, WAY up while doing so.

So again, be careful out there this morning..

Late night open thread

The bowl bids are out and Rutgers will play the Cyclones of Iowa State in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl Friday December 30th over at Yankee Stadium. Rutgers finished up this season at 8-4 while Iowa State was 6-6 with a huge upset over Oklahoma a few weeks back.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Jets and Giants football gameday!

Two New Jersey teams in desperate need of a victory take to the gridiron today with vastly different opponents standing in their way. The Jets are in Washington D.C. to take on the mostly hapless Redskins (does John Riggins still play for them?) while Big Blue has a markedly different task on the other end of the NFL power rankings. The undefeated and well rested (off since Thanksgiving Day) Green Bay Packers will bring their so-called invincible road show to the New Meadowlands for a 4:15 kickoff.

So New Jersey and New York football fans -- Can the Jets push the 'Skins around the park and get Mark Sanchez in some kind of rhythm? Can the Giants come roaring out of the tunnel and play nose to nose with Green Bay?

Johnny knows this, he wouldn't want to be on the Acela coming back from D.C. later this afternoon and early this evening. With all those Jets fans the bar car will run out of booze early. Then the Amtrak insurrection will begin. The cabin announcements won't so much be informative tidbits about stops and schedules but rather a screaming into the captain's microphone later translated to police as "J-E-T-S JETS! JETS JETS!"

We don't normally involve ourselves with national politics BUT...

Seriously Herman, Pokémon??!! In dropping out of the GOP primary yesterday Herman Cain said his previous comments about his the most inspiring thought "Life can be a challenge, life can seem impossible, but it's never easy when there's so much on the line" was actually lifted from Pokémon the Movie 2000. Herman doubled down on that by often bringing up this inspiring ideal on his campaign stops.

People now running for the office of President of the United States are saying Donna Summer songs in Pokémon flicks inspire them. No, doesn't just inspire them, its the most inspiring phrase they have ever heard.

Abraham Lincoln, now there was a guy you could quote. FDR, JFK, of course throw in the boilerplate religious leaders and great philosophers and you've got a pretty good list of 'A' material to work with.

We the people are drowning in Pokémon-thought. We're drowning in dumbed down being celebrated. We're drowning in academics being shunned as "them" and "they". We're drowning in the denial of science. We're drowning in the almost cocky way people deny science (And we give them tax breaks to do it).

This know-nothingism being celebrated needs to end and if those who embrace it need to be shoved to the perimeters of society sobeit. They can watch all the inspiring Pokémon movies they want while they are there.

Late night open thread

Saturday night scoreboard show

Wisconsin 42
Michigan St. 39
Sparty falls to 3-1 vs weasel based teams this year

LSU 42
Georgia 10
Give that dawg a beatdown

Oklahoma St. 44
Oklahoma 10
Did the Cowboys do enough to jump Alabama? Are you kidding? Upset the SEC? The NCAA? Never gonna happen

Southern Mississippi 49
Houston 28
Houston's undefeated season goes buh bye

West Virginia 30
USF 27
With the Mountaineer win many couch lives were saved

Montana St. 26
New Hampshire 25
New Hampshire's Mike MacArthur clanged an extra point off the upright with 6 seconds to play giving Montana State the win

Maine 34
Appalachian St. 12
The Bears from Orono PWN the town of Boone NC

Northern Iowa 28
Wofford 21
Wofford passed for a cool 21 yards all afternoon. Well done there

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Lehigh 40
Towson 38
Lehigh now moves to the third round of the 1-AA playoffs and will tangle with North Dakota St. next week. QB Chris Lum and WR Ryan Spadola are stupid good for the 11-1 Mountain Hawks

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Let's help some pets this holiday season

Some pet stores in Jersey City and Hoboken are taking part in and accepting donations for the Hungry Bowl Pet Food and Bedding Drive this holiday season. The donations will help feed and bed pets in Jersey City and Jersey City's biggest suburb Staten Island.

Donations can be dropped off at three locations in Hoboken - Cornerstone Pets, 105 Ninth St.; Hoboken Pet, 524 Washington St.; and Club H Fitness, 110 Sinatra Dr. - and Hound About Town, 17 McWilliams Pl., Jersey City.

Donations of opened food, full-sized litter boxes and pillows or mattresses will not be accepted.

The drive will continue until December 19th.

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with KIM WILDE!

Like totally eighties on this one fer suuuure. Totally bitchin. Kim Wilde with the anthemic 'Kids in America'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with SUPREME BEINGS OF LEISURE!

Here's a stone groove with some great guitar hooks and a nice smoky feel. Turn this one up and give yourself some room to move. Supreme Beings of Leisure with 'Under the Gun'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with PAROV STELAR!

Well isn't this the smartest little number you've heard in a while? It caught Johnny's ear in a TeeVee ad.

Sassy. Brassy.

Parov Stelar with 'Booty Swing'

The nip in the air tells us it's Christmas tree time!

And Johnny's gonna tell you where to get the best Christmas trees at the very best prices around. Gather round kids and uh, don't tell anyone Johnny told you so (Because they'll never find this post, we're practically invisible to the outside world our Technorati numbers say)...

Hoboken and Bayonne have a very nice system of city parks. In these well kept and well manicured parks you'll find pine trees. Some taller, some shorter and some wider than others. As you walk through the city park window shopping, make sure to think of the right size tree for you. Don't be a Clark W. Griswold and get a tree ten sizes too big. Right size it bucko.

Now, we're not saying take a saw and climb halfway up the pine tree and top it (Like we did at the Ypsi City Desk), that would be wrong. But you know accidents do happen and as the commercial character 'Mayhem' teaches us freak wind storms come up, a car could you know, whoops accidentally back into a tree (four feet up), insect damage can also cause trees to topple. Just make sure you don't let these unfortunate acts of Craftsma-- er nature go to waste. Pick up the broken pine tree and take it home. It's super cost effective in these dire economic times and those spiders in the tree weren't gonna make it outside all winter anyway.

Voila, a cost effective well kept Christmas tree for you and yours this holiday season. As Jersey City native Martha Stewart would say "It's a good thing."

Late night open thread

Comedy before bed night tonight with Lewis Black. He took a flight 22 hours to New Zealand. In his delectable cranked off style he's going to tell you about all of it. Put the headphones on if there are wee ones about. This is not to be missed...


Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Get out the bad weaves and hair teasing products, you too can roll like Donald Trump

Now not here in Jersey City of course, though Trump does have his name on that horribly bland architecturally challenged building down on Washington Street, we mean you too can become a real estate magnate and own part of the Empire State Building. The Empire State Building is Johnny's favorite building in the world, always has been. Now Johnny and everyone else can get in on the ground floor (d'oh) and buy a piece of the iconic 102 story building. The building is controlled by Anthony E. Malkin and his father, Peter L. Malkin. They want to start an incorporated real estate company and part of their holdings in any coming IPO is the Empire State Building. So, you buy stock in the Malkins you buy a piece of the Empire State Building.

You probably won't be able to jump the line over there for a tour if you own stock, and sadly you probably won't be able to bring your own booze up to the Observation Deck as a stockholder but the idea you could be part owner of something The Donald can only dream of, well that'll set your hair to easy breezy mode by itself.